Antique to Yuan Porcelain

Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
​See also : China  Chinese porcelain  Song  Yuan  Animals  Bird  Children  Chinese dragon
Chronology : 1-1000  1000-1400

Later Zhou Chai Kiln

The Later Zhou dynasty (Hou Zhou, 後周; 951–960) was a short-lived Chinese imperial dynasty and the final of the Five Dynasties that ruled much of northern China during the chaotic Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907–960). This era bridged the collapse of the Tang dynasty and the rise of the Song dynasty.

​Chai Kiln wares are legendary as one of China's "Five Great Kilns" (柴汝官哥定), attributed to the Later Zhou dynasty under Emperor Chai Rong. They are extremely rare because no confirmed kiln site has been definitively excavated with matching wares, making authenticated examples exceptionally scarce and valuable. Traditional descriptions praise them as "blue as the sky, bright as a mirror, thin as paper, and resonant as a chime" (青如天、明如镜、薄如纸、声如磬).
​Key Features (Based on Typical Chai Kiln and Comparable Celadon Examples)
  • Glaze and Color: A distinctive turquoise/celadon (Qing glaze) with a luminous, glassy, translucent quality. The glaze often shows subtle variations in tone (sky-blue to greenish), high gloss, and sometimes fine crackle or "ice crack" patterns. It is thin, even, and jewel-like, with excellent light transmission.
  • Body/Fabric: Fine, dense, high-fired porcelain or stoneware body (often pale or whiteish). Extremely thin walls in premium examples, contributing to the resonant "ring" when tapped. The base is typically unglazed or partially glazed, revealing the refined clay.
  • Form and Decoration:
    • Pillow/Tombstone Base Shape: Ceramic pillows (zhen) from this era were functional (headrests) but also burial/tomb items. "Twin ducks" suggests a sculpted form with two ducks (symbolizing marital harmony or auspiciousness) as the main motif or supports. Alternatives include rectangular/blocky tombstone bases or boat/child figures. Surfaces may feature subtle incised, molded, or applied decorations (e.g., floral, avian, or abstract patterns) under the glaze.
    • Size: Often compact (e.g., 13–20+ cm range for pillows), portable yet substantial for auction display.
    • Craftsmanship: Hand-modeled or molded with precise detailing; high-temperature firing produces the signature glaze effects. No heavy painted enamels—beauty comes from form, glaze purity, and minimalism.
  • Condition and Rarity: Auctioned pieces are typically in excellent preservation (intact glaze, minimal wear), with strong provenance. Only a handful of authenticated Chai Kiln pieces exist in private or museum collections, driving record prices.

twin duck pillow
​2026 SOLD for HK$ 660M before fees by Sincerity

The HKD 660 million lot (sold above the 400–600 million HKD estimate) refers to a rare Five Dynasties period (907–960 AD) Chai Kiln (柴窑, also called Zhu Yao) celadon-glazed ceramic artifact, often described in promotional contexts as a high-value "twin ducks pillow" or similar shaped piece, but auction references more precisely identify it as a Qing Glaze Tombstone Base.​

The image shows the turquoise-glazed ceramic artifact displayed in a glass case with auction labeling, highlighting its status as a high-value Chinese cultural heritage piece.

It exceeded its high estimate in a competitive spring sale, highlighting surging demand for imperial/rare early ceramics amid RWA/tokenization interest (e.g., via platforms like chayao.io). The piece was displayed in a glass case with auction tags, emphasizing its museum-quality status.
These artifacts represent peak technical achievement in early Chinese ceramics: purity of glaze, innovation in kiln technology, and cultural symbolism (ducks for fidelity/prosperity; tomb items for afterlife). Their value stems from extreme scarcity, historical lore, and collector/investor appeal.
Note that "twin ducks pillow" may be a descriptive shorthand; core references point to the Qing-glazed tomb-related form.

It was a public auction.
  • Auction House: Hong Kong CITIC International Auction (also referred to as CITIC International Auction in Hong Kong).
  • Auction: "Spring Art Treasures Auction (Part Two)" — the core lot was Lot 61, described as the "Five Dynasties Chai Kiln Qing Glaze / Celadon Tombstone Base" (or related celadon ceramic artifact; promotional materials sometimes use variant descriptions like "twin ducks pillow," "dragon boat fortune child pillow," or similar forms).
  • Date: The auction occurred very recently (kicked off around May 10, 2026, based on contemporaneous reports).
Price: Sold for a record HKD 660 million (this figure is consistently reported as the transaction/hammer price in coverage, exceeding the pre-sale estimate of HKD 400–600 million; it set a new benchmark for Chai Kiln wares, surpassing a prior ~HKD 380 million record).
  • Without premium: The HKD 660 million is typically the hammer price (the final bid amount before buyer's premium).
  • With premium: Auction houses like this add a standard buyer's premium (often 15–25% or tiered on top of the hammer, plus any taxes/fees), so the total amount paid by the buyer would be higher (exact premium percentage not specified in public reports for this lot, but the headline "sold for 660 million" usually refers to the hammer).
This was a high-profile public sale open to bidders, generating buzz in both traditional art and Web3/RWA circles (e.g., tied to tokenization efforts on platforms like chayao.io).

HKD 660M Lot: Exact Catalog Details
Lot 61 — "Five Dynasties Chai Kiln Qing Glaze / Celadon Tombstone Base" (also referred to as Celadon Epitaph Base or Tombstone Base Piece) from the CITIC International Auction in Hong Kong, "Spring Art Treasures Auction (Part Two)", which opened around May 10, 2026.
  • Pre-sale Estimate: HKD 400–600 million.
  • Sale Price: Hammer price HKD 660 million (record for Chai Kiln; described as exceeding prior anchors). This is the headline transaction figure; buyer's premium would add extra (standard rates apply, making total buyer cost higher).
Detailed Description (Compiled from Auction Reports): A rare Five Dynasties period (907–960 AD, Later Zhou) celadon-glazed tombstone base/epitaph-related ceramic artifact. These forms often served as bases for tomb markers or ritual items, rectangular/block-like with refined modeling. Features the iconic Chai Kiln turquoise-celadon glaze (luminous, thin, resonant, glassy). High craftsmanship with possible subtle incised or molded details; pale, fine body. Excellent condition and strong provenance emphasized. It builds on the prior pillow sale, reinforcing Chai wares' legendary status ("blue as the sky..."). No full public catalog text is widely excerpted online beyond these consistent descriptions, as it's a very recent high-profile private/high-net-worth sale.
​These pieces exemplify the pinnacle of early Chinese ceramic innovation under imperial patronage, with values driven by extreme scarcity, historical lore, and growing investor interest (including RWA tokenization).

child pillow
​2025 SOLD for HK$ 410M before fees by Sincerity

This refers to a Five Dynasties Chai Kiln (Later Zhou) Blue-Glazed Dragon Boat Fortune Child Pillow, sold for HKD 410 million at the Hong Kong CITIC International Autumn Auction on October 12, 2025.
Key Features of This Lot
  • Form: Ceramic pillow (zhen) in a sculpted, complex shape combining a dragon boat with fortune child (auspicious child figure) motifs. Size approximately 13 × 17 cm. These pillows served practical (headrest) and symbolic/tomb purposes; this example features intricate openwork or carved elements, rare for the period.
  • Glaze and Color: Signature Chai Kiln turquoise/celadon ("Qing glaze" or blue-glazed) — luminous, glassy, translucent, sky-blue to greenish tones with high gloss and jewel-like quality. Described as "blue as the sky, bright as a mirror."
  • Body and Craftsmanship: Fine, thin-walled high-fired stoneware/porcelain body. Exquisite carved dragon boat and fortune child patterns under the glaze. Base mark: "Great Zhou" (大周), directly linking it to the Later Zhou imperial court under Emperor Chai Rong.
  • Rarity: Extremely scarce; Chai wares have near-extinct survival rates with few authenticated examples. This was highlighted as the first complete vessel with clear royal marks to appear publicly, setting a benchmark for the category.
Auction Attributes: Public sale at CITIC International (Hong Kong). It was the peak/first-auction record for Chai Kiln pieces at the time, generating significant attention in both traditional art and RWA/tokenization circles (e.g., via chayao.io). Hammer price ~HKD 410M; total with premium would be higher depending on buyer's fees (typically 15–25%+).

ca 1100 Ding basin
​2014 SOLD for HK$ 147M by Sotheby's

The acceptance of the porcelain by the Song for a normal use in the palace opened a challenge to the specialized craftsmen : the vessels were to be as pleasant as jade in sight and touch. The development is rapid, with new forms, incised figured and white or celadon glazes. The underglaze painting has not yet been invented.

In a quest of a top refinement, the greatest geometric simplicity is highly appreciated. The softness of the glazes is so great to the touch that up to present day it remains the unequaled summit of this art. Incised decorations are often exquisite but are not essential.

From the beginning of the dynasty with the white Ding type porcelain, some cups are multi-lobed, taking the shape of a blooming flower. This form has indeed a practical purpose because it helps to hold the brushes during washing.

​A basin made in white porcelain at the time of the Northern Song Dynasty 900 years ago or slightly earlier was sold for HK $ 147M from a lower estimate of HK $ 60M by Sotheby's on April 8, 2014, lot 11. There is no evidence that this piece was imperial.

This large bowl 22 cm in diameter with high walls enters into the category of the Ding, vessels of good purity used for food or medicine. It is however the high end in this category, with some extreme refinements unique of their kind. Its glaze is colored in two very close ivory shades. It is in excellent condition.

Its theme is floral, first of all by its eight lobes of lotus petal shape. Inside, the floral patterns are finely incised under the glaze, barely noticeable in the photos. The central medallion is decorated with a peony and lotus stems adorn the inside walls. The exterior is blank.

The rim of the bowl is colored by a brown copper strip enabled by sparings in the glaze. This nice addition met the fashion of the time but did not please the emperor. It explains the development of the Ru production, monochrome without sparings, in the very last years of the dynasty.

Ru Ware of the Northern Song

In the history of mankind, artistic refinement is not a matter of continuous improvement, as one might believe. The chemical secret of the Imperial ceramics of the Northern Song is lost for a long time, and the quality of the smooth and translucent glaze using agate powder will never be equaled.

The Qing emperors considered the Imperial Ru porcelain as the best of all time. Its production for a decade or so at the end of the Northern Song dynasty had not been documented in period.

It was identified by the Southern Song that the extreme quality of the Imperial Ru ware was due to the incorporation of agate powder into the glaze. The exploration of the kiln site discovered in Henan province in 1986 showed that they were made beside a mass production in ordinary porcelain.

The techniques applied to hold the pieces during heating and cooling were rudimentary, resulting in a very low yield correlated with the excavation of many fragments on the site.

It is possible that the Imperial Ru was essentially experimental, and applied to most shapes produced at the same place in the other techniques. Because of its top quality, the Southern Song could not do otherwise than qualifying it as 'imperial' and the Qing experts followed.

That production center was known as the Ru kilns, Ru yao in Chinese. Ru ceramics are very rare because this operation lasted only a few years, 900 years ago during Zhezong and Huizong periods and was stopped by the fall of the dynasty. The site of the Ru yao, lost since the Yuan, was located in 1987 in Henan Province and excavated in 2000.

By a positioning on tiny studs during cooking without turning the piece upside down, the glaze savings that so displeased at the court of the Northern Song are avoided. The celadon color of which several shades are available equals the refinement of the jade. In the fashion of that time perfect proportions and minimalism are preferred to the complexity of shapes.

Located on what was to become a border zone between north and south, the Ru kilns did not survive the fall of the Northern Song. Their undocumented activity which was perhaps not in the service of the court had only lasted about two decades.

A quarter of a century after the fall of the Northern Song a courtier presents to the Gaozong Emperor of the Southern Song a significant group of Ru ware. The Emperor who was just managing to restore the legendary refinement of his dynasty admires the exceptional quality of these porcelains and especially some pieces whose surface has a texture like ice crackles. This effect modeling the creation of minerals in nature is appreciated as sensational. It was related to the chance of the cooling conditions in the Ru kilns but the Southern Song potters discovered the conditions to be applied to create such a texture at will.

87 pieces of Ru porcelain of the Northern Song are known. Four of them are in private hands. ​

intense blue-green brush washer
​2017 SOLD for HK$ 294M by Sotheby's

Sale “Song – Important Chinese Ceramics from the Le Cong Tang Collection” (HK0747), lot 5.
Northern Song Ru guanyao circular brush washer.
  • Diameter 13 cm; intense blue-green glaze with complex ice crackle; three fine sesame-seed spur marks.
  • Provenance: Sotheby’s London 1982; Chang Foundation / Hongxi Museum, Taipei; acquired by Robert Tsao (曹興誠), Le Cong Tang.
  • Estimate: in excess of HK$100 million.
  • Hammer: HK$260 million.
  • Sold including premium: HK$294,287,500 (approximately US$37.7 million).
    This became the world auction record for any Chinese ceramic, surpassing the 2014 Chenghua “chicken cup.” Bidding lasted about 20 minutes. The buyer remained anonymous.
​
A 13 cm round brush washer was sold for HK $ 294M by Sotheby's on October 3, 2017,  lot 5.  This intense blue-green piece has an exceptionally shiny crackled surface. Please watch the short video shared by the auction house.​

​Relying on a brush washer sold by Sotheby's on October 3, 2017, lot 5, define the significance of Ru ware in the history of Chinese porcelain.
The significance of Ru ware (汝窯) in the history of Chinese porcelain can be powerfully illustrated through the extraordinary auction result of the brush washer sold by Sotheby’s Hong Kong on 3 October 2017 as lot 5 — the small, unassuming sky-blue dish (14.8 cm diameter) from the Northern Song dynasty (early 12th century) that fetched HK$294,300,000 (approximately US$37.7 million), setting the world auction record for any Chinese ceramic at that time.This object is one of fewer than 100 surviving pieces of genuine Ru ware known worldwide (scholarly estimates place the total at 79–87 extant examples, almost all in museum collections). The extreme rarity and the astronomical price paid for this brush washer underline why Ru ware is universally regarded as the most revered and historically significant of all Chinese ceramics. Here are the key reasons:
  1. It is the official ware of the late Northern Song imperial court (ca. 1086–1125)
    Ru ware was produced exclusively for the Huizong Emperor (r. 1100–1125), the most artistically refined and aesthetically demanding ruler in Chinese history. Historical records (notably the 1420 text Gegu yaolun 清秘藏) state that the kiln at Baofeng, Qingliangsi, Ruzhou (modern Henan) was established by imperial order and fired for only about 20–30 years before the fall of the Northern Song to the Jurchens in 1127. No later dynasty ever succeeded in reproducing it.
  2. It represents the absolute pinnacle of Song aesthetic ideals
    Ru ware embodies the Song cult of understated elegance, restraint, and “heavenly” colour. Its pale sky-after-rain blue-green glaze (often described as “duck-egg blue” or “clair-de-lune”) was deliberately subtle, with an almost matte, jade-like surface, extremely fine crackle, and a soft opalescent glow. This was a radical departure from the bold colours and heavy decoration of Tang and earlier ceramics; it is the first deliberately monochrome, unadorned high-fired glaze in world ceramics history.
  3. Technical perfection that has never been equalled
    The glaze contains a tiny percentage of agate, producing its unique colour and opacity. The body is fired on five tiny sesame-seed-sized spurs, leaving almost invisible marks — a technique so refined that it remained unmatched for centuries. Later imitations by Yongzheng and Qianlong (18th century) Qing emperors came closest but are still instantly distinguishable to the trained eye.
  4. Extreme rarity and institutional prestige
    Of the roughly 80 surviving pieces:
    • National Palace Museum, Taipei: ~22
    • Palace Museum, Beijing: ~17
    • British Museum, Percival David Foundation: 9 (the finest private collection ever formed)
    • Shanghai Museum, Sir Percival David, etc.: the rest
      Only six or seven pieces have ever remained in private hands in modern times. The 2017 Sotheby’s brush washer was one of them, coming from the Au Bak Ling Collection and previously exhibited at the British Museum.
  5. Cultural and symbolic status
    Already in the Ming dynasty, Ru ware ranked first in the traditional hierarchy of the “Five Great Wares” of the Song (Ru, Guan, Ge, Jun, Ding). Chinese connoisseurs have for 600 years repeated the saying:
    “Even if you have ten thousand taels of gold, a piece of Ru ware is beyond price (有錢難買魯窯器).
The 2017 Sotheby’s sale — in which a modest scholar’s brush washer, smaller than a teacup saucer, sold for the price of a Van Gogh or a top-tier Picasso — is the ultimate modern confirmation of that ancient judgment. It demonstrated that, in the eyes of the market and of Chinese cultural consciousness, Ru ware stands alone as the supreme achievement in the entire 2,000-year history of Chinese ceramics.

pale blue-green brush washer
2012 SOLD for HK$ 208M by Sotheby's​

4 April 2012
Sale “Ru – From a Japanese Collection” (HK0367), lot 101.
Northern Song Ru guanyao lobed (葵花 / sunflower) brush washer.
  • Diameter 13.6 cm; six subtle lobes; three sesame-seed spur marks.
  • Provenance: Mr and Mrs Alfred Clark, London (1930s–1970s); Mayuyama, Tokyo; Japanese private collection.
  • Estimate: HK$60–80 million.
  • Sold: HK$207,860,000 including premium (then a record for any Song ceramic).
    It is one of only two known lobed washers of this type; its pair is in the British Museum.

The classic color of Ru is a very pale blue-green jade imitation. A washer 13.5 cm in diameter in smooth texture and very good condition was sold for HK $ 208M from a lower estimate of HK $ 60M by Sotheby's on April 4, 2012. The edge is pinched in six locations, simulating the petals of a flower. This washer was known long before the rediscovery of the site.

A sky blue tea bowl 10.2 cm in diameter and 5.2 cm in height surfaced in 2015. Its provenance from Japanese collections is indisputable and precedes for several decades the location of the kiln site. It had been broken, probably in the first part of the twentieth century, and repaired according to a traditional Japanese method including a filling of the gaps by a lacquer mixed with gold powder. It is considered complete.

This piece brings together two of the rarest features in its class.

​The extreme scarcity of Imperial Ru bowls had already been highlighted by the Qianlong emperor. A slightly chipped example of identical shape and dimensions but in another color had been found on the kiln site.

Its sky blue color is unique among complete pieces but is also found on some excavated fragments. Highly appreciated in graphic arts by the Northern Song, this color was an attempt by the Ru potters to escape the traditional celadon.

This bowl was sold for HK $ 56M by Christie's on November 26, 2018, lot 8006.

Ru pieces with questionable authentication

Quoting a previous chat about tke top auction results at CITIC International Auction Co., Ltd. (香港中信国际拍卖有限公司) :
2025 Spring Sales: Northern Song Ru Kiln examples reached ~HKD 380–510 million range in reports (e.g., one Ru Kiln piece at ~HKD 510M in related coverage; another cited at 3.8亿 HKD/ ~HKD 380M).
2023/2024 Autumn Classic Sale: Total ~HKD 650 million. Highlights included a Song Ru Kiln washer at ~HKD 320 million (record at the time for the category)

​These reported results come from Sincerity International Auctioneer Limited (中信國際拍賣有限公司 / 香港中信国际拍卖有限公司), a Hong Kong-based house associated with Huang Zhaojie (黄兆基) and founded around 2001. It is not affiliated with the CITIC Group (中信集团), which has publicly listed similarly named Hong Kong companies as unauthorized users of the “CITIC/中信” name.
The figures you mentioned appear in the house’s own announcements and promotional coverage (primarily Sohu-style articles), not in independently audited results from major international houses or standard art-market databases. Genuine Northern Song Ru ware is exceptionally rare (roughly 80–90 complete heirloom pieces known, nearly all in museums). Accepted auction records remain the 2012 Sotheby’s Hong Kong sunflower washer (~HKD 208 million) and the 2017 Sotheby’s Hong Kong Le Cong Tang washer (HKD 294.3 million including premium).
2023 Autumn Classic Sale
  • Date: 10 September 2023, Marco Polo Hong Kong Hotel, Tsim Sha Tsui.
  • Reported total: ~HKD 650 million.
  • Highlight: Song Ru kiln washer (宋·汝窑洗).
    • Description: Circular mouth, shallow belly, wide everted footring; overall even sky-blue (天青) glaze; fully glazed and spur-fired with three small sesame-seed spur marks in a triangular (“品”) arrangement; dark-grey body; thick glaze with saliva spots and ox-hair crackle.
    • Hammer price (before buyer’s premium): HKD 320 million. The house called this a then-record for the category.
    • No detailed prior auction history, independent scientific reports, or published museum-level provenance is given in available coverage.
2024 Spring Sale
  • Date: 13 April 2024, same venue.
  • Highlight: Song Ru kiln vase with Qianlong imperial poem (宋·汝窯瓶 乾隆御題).
    • Description: Copper-bound rim noted in some reports; overall sky-blue glaze; fully glazed spur-fired; Qianlong poem inscribed on the base (text referring to Ding ware pink tones and official kilns).
    • Hammer price (before premium): HKD 510 million. House total for the sale reported as over HKD 700 million.
    • Again, limited independent documentation of earlier sales or authentication beyond the house’s presentation.
2025 Spring Sale
  • Date: 13 April 2025, Marco Polo Hong Kong Hotel, 4/F Bauhinia Room.
  • Highlight: Northern Song Ru kiln mouse-pattern washer (北宋汝窑鼠纹洗), lot 108, Japanese return.
    • Size: 13.5 × 3 cm.
    • Color and features: Even “rain-after-sky-blue” (雨过天青) glaze with cicada-wing crackle; relief or incised mouse motifs (described as auspicious “瑞鼠纳福”); five small sesame spur marks on the base.
    • Estimate: HKD 120–180 million.
    • Hammer: HKD 380 million.
    • Including premium: HKD 448.4 million (consistent with an ~18% buyer’s premium).
    • Claimed history: Appeared at Sotheby’s New York in 2001 and went unsold amid dating questions; alleged (unverified) Ataka Eiichi collection; later Oxford thermoluminescence dating to the Yuanyou era (1086–1094).
A separate 2025 summer sale (12 July 2025) reported a Song Ru sky-blue narcissus basin (7 × 23 cm) at HKD 370 million hammer.
Authentication, history, and confirmation status
​The house presents these as completed sales with the hammer prices above (before fees) and the inclusive figures where stated. Buyer’s premium in this market is typically 15–20%. No public buyer identities, payment confirmations, or post-sale insurance/export records appear in independent reporting.
Specialist commentary has been skeptical, particularly of the 2025 “鼠纹洗.” Points raised include:
  • No excavated kiln-site fragments (Qingliangsi or Zhanggongxiang) show mouse/rat decoration or similar relief work; genuine Ru ware is characteristically plain and restrained.
  • The 2001 Sotheby’s New York appearance ended without a sale due to dating controversy.
  • Claimed Ataka provenance is unconfirmed; major collections of that caliber usually go to Sotheby’s or Christie’s.
  • Oxford TL results are regarded in the trade as having limited weight once a piece has already been questioned, because the method has been exploited by later copies.
  • A “奉华” mark (mentioned in some accounts of similar pieces) is known on only one accepted Ru dish, now in the National Palace Museum, Taipei.
In short, the prices and descriptions you cited match the auction house’s own published claims and the promotional articles that followed them. Independent verification of authenticity, prior ownership chains, and actual settlement of the transactions is not available from major auction houses, museum scholars, or established result databases. Genuine Ru ware of the quality and type accepted by the field remains confined to a very small, well-documented group of objects.

Special Report
Authentication Methods

Ru ware authentication is unusually demanding because official production lasted only a short period in the late Northern Song (roughly 1086–1127), the surviving heirloom corpus is tiny (on the order of 80–90 complete pieces recognized by leading scholars), and modern copies have become technically sophisticated. No single test is decisive. Reliable attribution rests on the convergence of several independent lines of evidence.
1. Form, repertoire, and workshop practice
Accepted pieces belong to a restricted set of shapes: circular or lobed brush washers (the most common), dishes, small bowls, narcissus basins, a few bottles, and rare censers or stands. Elaborate surface decoration—relief or incised animal motifs such as mice—is essentially unknown among kiln-site sherds and the accepted heirloom group. Official Ru is defined by restraint.
Firing practice is equally diagnostic. Genuine official wares are fully glazed and supported on tiny “sesame-seed” spurs (usually 3 or 5, occasionally more on larger pieces). The spur scars are small, regularly placed near the outer edge of the base, and expose the light-grey “incense-ash” body. Large, irregular, or overly numerous scars, sand adhesion, or an unglazed foot are immediate warning signs.
2. Body and glaze under visual and optical examination
The body is a high-alumina clay fired at a relatively modest temperature (typically 1150–1220 °C). It is therefore not fully vitrified: it feels light for its size, the fracture is dry rather than glassy, and water absorption is comparatively high. Color is a pale grey often compared to incense ash.
The glaze is a thick, even, low-chroma sky-blue (天青) whose appearance changes with light angle and thickness. Color arises from a combination of ferrous iron in a reducing atmosphere and physical scattering by anorthite crystals and liquid–liquid phase separation inside the glaze, not from added pigments. Fine, irregular “cicada-wing” or “crab-claw” crackle is typical; the lines sit within the glaze rather than standing proud. Sparse, small bubbles (“morning stars”) are expected; crowded or mixed-size bubble fields are not.
Traditional magnifier inspection looks for residual quartz grains, a misty “cotton-in-jade” quality in the glaze layer, and natural aging at the glaze–body interface. These observations are useful but can be imitated.
3. Archaeological benchmark: Qingliangsi
Since the 1980s excavations at Qingliangsi, Baofeng, Henan, every serious attribution is checked against excavated official-layer sherds. Those sherds establish the acceptable range of body chemistry, glaze thickness and microstructure, spur morphology, and the near-absence of decorated surfaces. Pieces that lack close excavated parallels—especially in decoration or firing method—are treated with extreme caution regardless of laboratory reports.
4. Scientific methods
Modern analysis is comparative, not absolute. The reference set is excavated Qingliangsi official ware plus a few well-provenanced museum pieces.
  • Compositional analysis (handheld or laboratory XRF, EDXRF, SEM-EDS): Ru glazes form a tight chemical cluster. Discriminating elements versus Korean Goryeo celadon or later Chinese copies include Mn, Sr, Al, Fe, Ti and certain flux ratios. Handheld XRF has been used successfully to re-attribute museum pieces previously catalogued as Korean.
  • Microstructure (SEM, TEM, XRD): Official Ru glaze is a crystalline-phase-separated glaze. Anorthite needles or clusters, residual quartz, and localized liquid–liquid phase separation are characteristic. Zhanggongxiang and many modern copies show different crystal assemblages (for example more abundant diopside).
  • Colorimetry: CIELAB coordinates of accepted tianqing glazes occupy a narrow, low-chroma window.
  • Thermoluminescence (TL): Can exclude obviously modern pieces but has a wide error margin and is vulnerable to sampling strategy or prior heating. It is supporting evidence at best and has been repeatedly questioned when used as the main argument for previously rejected objects.
  • Other techniques: Mössbauer or XPS for iron speciation (confirming reduction), Raman for phase identification, and occasional petrography of the body.
Scientific data must be interpreted against the excavated reference set. A “Song-period” TL date on a piece whose chemistry or microstructure does not match Qingliangsi official ware does not make it Ru.
5. Provenance and the accepted corpus
​The strongest pieces have continuous or well-documented histories (Qing court, early 20th-century Japanese or European collections, published exhibition catalogues). Regina Krahl’s successive inventories (2012, 2017) and the National Palace Museum’s lists remain the working catalogues against which new candidates are compared. Pieces that first appear in the market with thin or circular provenance, or that previously failed at major houses, face a higher burden of proof.
6. Practical limitations and red flagsEven specialists disagree on borderline objects. Later “Ru-type” wares from the same kiln complex, Southern Song official wares, and high-quality 20th- and 21st-century copies can share some visual traits. Common problems in the market include:
  • overly saturated or uniform glaze color and “thief light”
  • mechanically regular crackle
  • decorated surfaces without kiln-site precedent
  • spur marks that are too large, too numerous, or incorrectly placed
  • reliance on a single laboratory certificate (especially TL) without compositional or microstructural match to Qingliangsi
  • claims of unique “孤品” status that conveniently explain the absence of comparanda
An integrated protocol therefore proceeds in this order: first establish that the object belongs to the accepted formal and technical repertoire, then confirm body and glaze chemistry and microstructure against excavated official ware, then weigh provenance. Laboratory results that contradict the archaeological and connoisseurship evidence are set aside rather than used to override it.
That multi-layered standard is why the two widely accepted auction records (Sotheby’s 2012 and 2017) involved plain washers with long published histories, while pieces that introduce new decorative types or rest primarily on a late TL report remain outside the scholarly consensus.

Guan ware of the Southern Song
​2015 SOLD for HK$ 114M by Sotheby's

The Chinese political map changes suddenly in 1127 CE. The Jurchen tribe had a successful revolt against the Liao state and now terminates in China proper the Northern Song dynasty.

These events put an end to the exquisite activity of the Ru kilns. The Ding porcelain which had been the foremost supplier to the imperial court goes to the Jin. The official porcelain is now known as Guan which is not a location but a label.

The Song control is thereafter limited to south China with a temporary capital in the present city of Hangzhou. Their dynasty will last one century and a half.

Shocked by these events, the Southern Song are looking to redefine their values ​​in a compromise between tradition and progress. Beyond Tang whose luxury was voluptuous, the Song are rediscovering the various shapes of antique ritual bronzes, from Shang to Han. They inaugurated a tradition for the porcelain imitation of old vessels that will be continued up to the Qing.

Two imperial kilns (Guan yao) are installed in Hangzhou. Their location is known, and one of them was probably inside the local Imperial City. This official porcelain favors the balance of geometric shapes and the quality of the material instead of the figuration. The Guan of the Southern Song achieves a sophistication comparable to the white Ding porcelain of the early Song and to the wonderful Ru wares.

However the fashion also changes, probably forced by the fact that the ceramic material after firing is no longer white. The high end pieces are designed with a thick grayish glaze decorated by a dense pattern giving an appearance of crushed ice whose brightness was as spectacular as in the white Ding porcelain.

HISTORICAL RELATIONSHIP Ru ware was the last official celadon of the Northern Song court, made for a short period of roughly 1086–1127 at Qingliangsi, Baofeng, Henan. Production ended when the Jurchen invasion forced the court south in 1127. Southern Song Guan ware was created as an official substitute after the court lost access to the Ru kilns. Contemporary texts say the new kilns “followed the old system of the former capital.” Two official sites operated near Hangzhou: the earlier Xiuneisi (Laohudong) kiln and the later Jiaotanxia kiln. Early Xiuneisi pieces are the closest visual descendants of Ru; later Jiaotanxia pieces developed a more distinct southern character. They are successive official wares, not contemporaries. Ru is northern and earlier; Guan is southern and later.
BODY Ru uses high-alumina northern clay with relatively low iron, fired at a modest temperature of about 1150–1220 °C, so the body is not fully vitrified. The color is pale grey, traditionally called incense-ash body. It feels light and the fracture is dry. Guan uses southern porcelain-stone mixed with iron-rich zijin clay. The body is darker, from grey to dark grey or brownish-black. This produces the classic purple mouth and iron foot when the glaze thins at the rim and the foot is left unglazed or only partly glazed. The Guan body is usually thicker than Ru.
GLAZE AND COLOR Ru has a single, relatively even layer of low-chroma sky-blue, often with a grey-green or lavender tinge. Color comes from ferrous iron plus scattering by anorthite crystals and phase separation. The surface is matte to softly lustrous, jade-like, and tends to absorb light. Thickness is even, and the glaze usually covers the entire vessel. Guan uses multiple glaze layers, often two to five coats, so the glaze can be thicker than the body itself. The color range is wider: powder-blue, grey-blue, greenish, milky, straw-yellow, or brownish. The best pieces aim at a Ru-like blue but rarely match the same even, misty quality. The Guan glaze is more opaque and layered.
CRACKLE This is one of the clearest visual differences. Ru shows fine, irregular, shallow cicada-wing or crab-claw crackle. It is often subtle and was not the main decorative effect; some of the finest pieces have very little visible crackle. Guan crackle is deliberate and prominent. It ranges from wide, dramatic ice-crackle or eel-blood lines to dense networks. Dark staining of the crackle, from the iron-rich body or later infiltration, is common and prized. Guan ware made crackle a central aesthetic feature rather than a secondary one.
FIRING AND FOOT Ru is fully glazed and supported on tiny sesame-seed spurs, usually three or five, leaving small pale scars that expose the ash-grey body. Guan uses mixed methods. Many pieces have an unglazed or wiped foot that shows the dark body as an iron foot. Spur marks, when present, tend to be larger and coarser than Ru sesame marks. Some early Xiuneisi pieces still use small spurs in emulation of Ru.
FORMS The Ru repertoire is small and restrained: washers, dishes, bowls, narcissus basins, and a few bottles. Surface decoration is almost absent. The Guan repertoire is larger and includes more archaic and ceremonial shapes needed for Southern Song court ritual, such as tripod censers, gu vases, and cong-form vessels, plus everyday court wares. Lobed and foliate rims are more common than on Ru.
SURVIVAL AND MARKET Complete heirloom Ru pieces number roughly 80–90, and almost all are in museums. Only a handful have ever been sold at major auctions, with the two Sotheby’s washers of 2012 and 2017 remaining the benchmarks. Southern Song Guan ware survives in larger numbers, both as heirloom pieces, especially in the National Palace Museum, and as excavated material from the Hangzhou official kiln sites. It is still rare and expensive, but it is not in the same scarcity class as Ru. Auction records for Guan are high but have not approached the two Ru washer results.
AUTHENTICATION Because Guan was created as a substitute for Ru, the two can be confused at first glance, especially early Xiuneisi pieces with bluish glaze. Distinguishing features that hold up under scrutiny are body color and density, pale ash-grey and under-fired versus darker iron-rich southern body; glaze layering and thickness; the character and prominence of the crackle; foot treatment and spur morphology; and chemical composition, northern high-alumina clay versus southern porcelain-stone plus iron clay. Scientific analysis such as XRF and SEM microstructure separates them cleanly once reference groups from Qingliangsi and the Hangzhou official kilns are used. Connoisseurship still begins with these visual and tactile differences.
SUMMARY Ru is the brief, northern, understated original. Guan is the southern official successor that kept the court-celadon ideal alive but replaced Ru’s even, misty sky-blue and tiny spur marks with thicker layered glaze, a darker body, and intentional, often dramatic crackle.

The mallet shape of the Guan bottles is not inspired by the antique. Assuming that this form had been developed in the Ru yao, its follow in the Southern Song period has arguably been made for the Gaozong emperor who was the first ruler of the new dynasty. At that time the wares from the North were still greatly appreciated.

It is a broad cylinder rising from a shallow recessed base to an angled shoulder, sweeping up to a long neck with a short everted dished rim. 

​A Guan mallet vase was sold for HK$ 68M by Sotheby's on April 11, 2008, lot 2601. Its unique luminous milky bluish glaze was obtained through multiple firing. Long golden threads of crackles randomly swirling around the neck were due to a controlled cooling. Some vermilion traces are remaining. It bears on the base an incised location at the Jade Stream Imperial garden, created by Gaozong in 1147 CE..

A Guan vase 22 cm high was sold for HK $ 114M from an expectation beyond HK $ 60M by Sotheby's on April 7, 2015, lot 1.

The general shape of this bottle is a hu, with a tall neck over a bulging body. It is yet octagonal from neck to base, with the exception of its circular mouth rim. Four horizontal ribs in slight protuberance offer a pleasant partitioning.

Above the dark brown ceramic that is visible under the base, the bluish-green glaze was built by successive heatings in a complex process that resulted in softening the sharp angles without a mechanical intervention on the ceramic. The final cooling creates the crackled pattern according to the fashion already promoted by the Northern Song, symbolizing the random lines of the nature.

​Sotheby's sold for HK $ 81M on October 3, 2018 as lot 3105 a guan brush washer of the Southern Song 14 cm in diameter. Its style and size are are extremely similar as the Ru example sold for HK $ 208M  by Sotheby's on April 4, 2012.The thick bluish green glaze with a classic crackle texture is glossy, without decoration. The color changes on the rim, voluntarily imitating not without humor the traces of the position in the kiln that had so much displeased the Song emperors in the early days of the Ding.

A guan dish of comparable design and shape 18 cm in diameter with a celadon glaze was sold for HK $ 26M by Christie's on May 28, 2014.

A 19 cm guan dish was sold for HK$ 56M by Sotheby's on September 9, 2025, lot 5022. It comes in the follow of the Ru techniques but its six lobed design is inspired from another Northern Song kiln. The body is enveloped in a lustrous bluish-celadon glaze suffused with a network of golden-beige crackles.

Ding tea bowl of the Southern Song
​​2016 SOLD for $ 11.7M by Christie's

The Ding kilns located in Hebei province in northeastern China were producing ceramics since the Tang dynasty. When porcelain begins to compete with jade for imperial use under the Northern Song, Ding is the most important source for these new wares. The bowls are normally stacked upside down during heating, leaving the mouth rim unglazed.

The beautiful creamy white Ding porcelains become commonplace and the court always demands more refinement. The Ding workshops add to their know-how the black porcelain bowls bringing a more pleasant vision of tea froth. The activity of the Ding kilns is not interrupted after the invasion of North China by the Jin in 1125 CE.

Ding potters know how to embellish their black porcelain with colorful effects. This practice was later extended in the Jian kilns of the Southern Song with continuous patterns described as hare's fur, tea dust, partridge plumage or oil drops.

Under the Song the tea ceremony culminated in an exquisite refinement that required in its turn an improvement of the porcelain. Potters achieved an unprecedented control of the kiln settings but also of the chemistry applied to the glazes.

The tea is prepared in powder on which the boiling water generates a white froth which is more enjoyable when the porcelain is dark. The Jian kilns provide an additional visual refinement. The iron saturated glaze generates chemical precipitates that create different patterns depending on the precise time at which the process is stopped.

The basic effect consisting of streaks is the hare's fur. A more subtle next step brings a network of iridescent spots, sometimes with halos, constituting patterns known as tea dust, partridge feather or oil spot. Modern chemists failed to reproduce the chemical purity of the iron oxide of the grown solidified drops from the Song porcelain.

A tea bowl 12 cm in diameter realized in Jian technique during the period of the Southern Song around 800 years ago was sold for $ 11.7M from a lower estimate of $ 1.5M by Christie's on September, 2016, lot 707 . It features a rare and beautiful wall surface of oil spots on a black background.

The Japanese continued to enjoy the black tea bowls of the Song which they imitated under the name of tenmoku. The bowl for sale is accompanied by a lacquered box probably from Edo period and was registered in Japan as an important art object from 1935 to 2015. It comes from a Japanese collection of old Chinese porcelains.

This piece is the highlight of the second sale of the Linyushanren collection of Song dynasty ceramics. Please watch the video shared by Christie's.

Yuan Guan Jar

After decades of fierce conquests, the Mongols invaded China. Now named Yuan, their dynasty succeeded the Song. After the perfection in material, robustness and geometry under the Song, the Chinese porcelain got a new artistic development with the Yuan.
The Yuan sought to establish a synthesis of Mongolian and Chinese traditions, but they were foreigners. They strengthened their position by facilitating maritime and land communication with other Asian countries, reviving the Silk Road. At that time the Chinese ceramics, especially those from Jingdezhen, are the only ones that are hygienic enough to bring no health risk to the user.
The Jingdezhen kilns were already operational under the Tang and Song but their activity is much developed by the Yuan, experiencing a sustainable development towards the end of this dynasty, from around 1350 CE.
The painting under glaze and the cobalt blue are both imports made by the Yuan from the Muslim world for the porcelains of Jingdezhen. The white porcelain was painted on the moulded body with blue figures, and then glazed and fired.
The excellent quality of the cobalt imported from Iran enabled a color gradation up to the deep blue, inviting exquisite figurative motifs. This pigment, known as sumali qing ('Sumali blue'), originated mainly in Persian mines and reached Jingdezhen via revived Silk Road caravans through Central Asia (passing through hubs like Samarkand) as well as maritime routes across the Indian Ocean, facilitated by Persian and Arab merchants. The Mongol empire's control over vast territories made these long-distance exchanges safer and more efficient, turning the cobalt trade into a key link in the early globalization of luxury goods.
The globular guan shape, previously used in terracotta, was much appreciated for the top end Yuan porcelain jars. In this context, "guan" (罐) refers to a sturdy, ovoid or globular jar form, typically with a broad low foot, swelling body, rounded shoulder, and short cylindrical neck—often used for storing wine and providing an ideal continuous "canvas" around the body for expansive decoration.
The Yuan enjoyed a form of drama invented by the Song, the zaju. It was a multidisciplinary show with recitations, songs, dance and mime, somewhat like the total shows by Aeschylus in Athens or by Diaghilev much later. Demonstrating their interest in the history of the invaded country, the Yuan zajus selected their themes in the epic legends of the Han or Tang. Painting on porcelain their zaju stories, the Yuan are the precursors of the movie posters! The scenes are animated by warlike horsemen and emperors.
Two forms of porcelain wares were favourable to illustrate the zaju: the guan jar used for the wine and the meiping vase for arranging plum blossom branches. The cobalt drawing filled a circular scene all around the body.

1350 Zaju
​​2005 SOLD for £ 15.7M by Christie's

On July 12, 2005, Christie's sold for £15.7M (approximately $27.7 million at the time) a magnificent Yuan guan jar, 33 cm high, lot 88. Robustly potted, it stands on a broad low foot rising to a full rounded shoulder below a short cylindrical neck. It is vividly painted in deep and vibrant cobalt blue around the body with a continuous, dynamic narrative scene from the Warring States period: a robed figure (Guiguzi) seated in a two-wheeled cart drawn by a tiger and a leopard, following two foot soldiers each carrying a spear and approaching a rustic bridge across a stream beneath a waterfall. The cart is followed by two equestrians on either side of dramatically painted rocks—one in military attire carrying a banner inscribed with the characters Gui Gu, the other a scholar in flowing robes on a prancing piebald horse, turning toward his companion. The lively composition is punctuated by pine, bamboo, flowering prunus, plantain, rose, and willow trees, all set against rocky outcrops. The jar features a classic breaking-wave band around the neck, a peony scroll around the shoulder, and a band of upright lotus-petal lappets enclosing emblems around the base. The intense cobalt shows rich mottling with purplish tones characteristic of the finest imported Iranian pigment; the interior has a transparent glaze with a bluish tinge, while the foot rim and base are unglazed.
This jar belongs to a very small group of only about eight surviving narrative guan jars of similar construction and proportions, probably produced in the same high-end Jingdezhen workshop around 1350. All but one share the distinctive breaking-wave band on the neck, and the painting style closely relates to a vase inscribed with a date equivalent to 1351 CE (the famous David vases). Its hectic story—depicting the state of Yan's attempt to conquer Qi, with the strategist Guiguzi (Wang Xu, titled after his home Guigu) traveling in the feline-drawn cart—directly appealed to the Mongol conquerors. The figure of the cart pulled by two felines was inspired by a woodblock print from the 1320s.

1350 Jingxian Ting Zaju
​2026 SOLD for HK$ 175M by Christie's

From the same series, a 27.3 cm high cobalt blue guan jar was sold by Christie's for HK $ 47M on November 28, 2005, lot 1403 and for HK $ 175M as lot 804 on April 30, 2026. It features the classic globular guan shape with sturdy potting, broad low foot, full rounded shoulder, and short cylindrical neck. It is vividly painted in deep and vibrant cobalt blue with a continuous narrative scene around the body depicting four standing figures grouped in two pairs within a stylized garden setting (lingzhi fungus, ferns, grasses, ornamental rocks, plantain leaves, bamboo, peonies, an arching tree branch, and a low fence with wave-patterned panels leading to an open pavilion with chequered floor and double-rail balustrade). One pair shows an elegant court lady in long robes with cloud-scroll motifs and high chignon holding a handkerchief, accompanied by a shorter female attendant gesturing; the other pair includes a lady in a checked robe with ornamental combs and a haughty court official in headdress turned away beside a flowering S-shaped rose branch. The pavilion bears the three-character inscription "Jin Xiang Ting" (Pavilion of Fragrant Brocades). Additional bands include a continuous peony scroll on the shoulder (eight blooms on an undulating vine), breaking waves on the neck, and lotus-petal panels with pendent trefoils and circles on the foot. The blue shows rich mottling with purplish tones, and the interior has a bluish-tinged transparent glaze.
This jar represents the zaju drama Meng Yuemei xie hen Jinxiang Ting by Wang Zhongwen—a troubled romance set in the reign of the Xuanzong emperor of the Tang, involving scholar Chen and Meng Yuemei.
Comparisons with other zaju pieces: This belongs to a rare group of approximately eight to ten surviving mid-14th-century Yuan narrative guan jars (plus a few meiping vases) from Jingdezhen workshops, likely influenced by the same woodblock-printed drama editions. Key shared features include the globular guan shape suited to wine storage and circumferential narrative bands, robust construction, breaking-wave neck bands (present on most, including the Guiguzi jar and this example), peony or floral shoulder scrolls, and lotus-petal foot bands. Figure styles (e.g., trailing sleeves, dynamic gestures, architectural elements like wave-decorated balustrades or chequered floors) recur across the group, as seen in the Bai Hua Ting (Pavilion of a Hundred Flowers) guan formerly in the Manno Collection and the Xi Xiang Ji (Romance of the Western Chamber) example in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Narrative scenes from zaju were less common than floral or animal motifs but provided ideal expansive decoration on guan jars (and occasionally meiping), drawing from 171 surviving Yuan plays focused on romance or heroic tales. A related meiping fragment with a Bai Hua Ting scene sold previously, highlighting the format's use on both jar types.
The estimated date around 1350 (mid-14th century) applies to all known zaju narrative pieces in this group, consistent with stylistic links to dated 1351 David vases (wave bands), archaeological contexts, and the peak of Jingdezhen underglaze-blue production toward the end of the Yuan. No significant outliers exist among the surviving narrative examples.
With a simpler design and a lighter blue (in comparison with the £15.7M example), an ovoid Yuan jar 38 cm high on a theme of warriors on horseback was sold for $1.324M on March 17, 2013 by I. M. Chait Gallery. This lot is here linked on LiveAuctioneers. It is curiously flanked by two moulded handles shaped as tiger's heads.
A Yuan jar decorated with fish was sold for HK$40M by Sotheby's on October 8, 2022, lot 6. Its baluster guan shape is 31 cm high and 34 cm in its larger diameter. It is painted in cobalt blue of four fishes in different species, modeled from Song paintings. The naturalism of swimming fish was then considered as an artistic feat on which some artists were specializing. The association of fish and water is a Daoist symbol of spiritual freedom. The magnificent underglaze blue hues from light to deep assess a perfect mastery of the recently imported cobalt by the Jingdezhen potters. This one has the same band of breaking waves on its short straight neck as the zaju jars.
​A fish jar with the same design is kept at the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum. The theme was re-used a century later for the Xuande emperor of the Ming.

Jar
​2025 SOLD for HK$ 168M by CITIC

The May 25, 2025 Sohu post-sale report covers CITIC International’s Spring Art Treasures Auction (Phase II), held in Hong Kong on 24 May 2025. The two Yuan blue-and-white lots dominated the porcelain section. Public reports give strong high-level descriptions and prices but do not publish full catalogue measurements, condition notes, or complete provenance chains.
Lot 289 — Yuan blue-and-white jar with lotus scroll and auspicious-beast design
  • Key features: Large guan form. Rich, vibrant underglaze cobalt (typical imported “Suma-li-qing” with heaping-and-piling and iron spots). Rare combination of scrolling lotus and auspicious beasts (瑞兽). Palace Museum specialists called it a “standard piece from the Yuan dynasty imperial kilns.”
  • Size: Not stated in the available reports.
  • Decoration: Continuous lotus-scroll ground populated by mythical beasts; typical Yuan multi-register layout (neck, shoulder, body, foot) with classic-scroll, lappet and wave borders.
  • Authentication: Explicit Palace Museum expert attribution as an imperial-kiln benchmark piece.
  • Previous auction results: None published; appears to have been fresh to the market or from a private collection.
  • Realized price: HK$150 million (the figure given in the post-sale report; Hong Kong practice usually quotes the price including buyer’s premium).
This is not a zaju jar from the circa-1350 narrative series. Those famous “ten great jars” show continuous or large-scale figural scenes drawn from Yuan drama (zaju). Lot 289 is floral-and-beast, not figural.

Second lot — Yuan blue-and-white octagonal jar with reserved-panel figures and double handles
  • Key features: Octagonal (bafang / eight-faceted) body, pair of applied handles (almost certainly animal-mask / suan-ni type). Extremely rare figural narrative inside reserved panels (kaiguang).
  • Size: Not stated.
  • Decoration: Eight-sided body with ogival or barbed reserved panels containing a figure narrative; surrounding grounds of lotus or composite floral scroll, classic-scroll and lappet borders. The narrative itself is described only as “openwork figure narrative” (the Chinese term used in previews is 开光人物 — painted reserved panels, not pierced openwork).
  • Authentication: Rarity of the figural-narrative scheme on an octagonal Yuan jar is cited as the main driver of the premium; no separate Palace Museum quote is given.
  • Previous auction results: None published.
  • Realized price: HK$85 million (again the post-sale figure, almost certainly including premium).
The “openwork” wording in the English summary is a translation of 开光 (reserved cartouches), not true pierced loukong work, which is virtually unknown on Yuan blue-and-white jars.
Comparable Yuan octagonal jars with reserved-panel decoration and animal handlesVery few published examples exist; the form itself is rare because the eight facets had to be assembled from separately thrown or moulded sections and then luted — a high-risk process.
  • Liaoning Provincial Museum (Anshan find, 1977): octagonal jar, H. 39.7 cm, animal-mask handles, reserved panels of pine-bamboo-plum and lotus-pond ducks. Closest published parallel in construction and handle type.
  • Christie's (older sale): octagonal guan, H. 42 cm, ogival panels of qilin, phoenix and lotus sprays, animal-mask handles (now missing). Dated circa 1350.
  • Sotheby's: unique octagonal jar with barbed panels of Xiwangmu and the Eight Immortals, animal-head handles. The only other recorded Yuan octagonal jar with an extensive figural narrative.
In all cases the technique is the same: the body is built in eight vertical facets, the main scenes are painted inside reserved panels set against a dense floral or scroll ground, and the handles are applied, pierced animal masks originally intended to hold metal rings. True pierced openwork on the body itself does not appear on any of the published Yuan examples.

The Sohu post-sale report treats the three headline figures in the same way. For Fu Baoshi it explicitly writes that the work opened at HK$320 million and finally hammered at HK$410 million. The two porcelain prices appear in the identical narrative style, with no “including premium” qualifier. Starting prices never include premium, so the only internally consistent reading is that all three numbers are hammers.
CITIC International’s published buyer’s commission (house FAQ) is banded and applies to the hammer: 21 percent on hammers of HK$1 million or less, 18 percent from HK$1 million to under HK$5 million, 15 percent from HK$5 million to HK$10 million, and 12 percent above HK$10 million. All three lots sit far above the top band, so the applicable rate on the FAQ schedule is 12 percent. Hong Kong invoices normally carry no VAT on the premium.
On that schedule the Fu Baoshi Pipa Xing hammers at HK$410 million, attracts a premium of HK$49.2 million, and invoices at HK$459.2 million. Lot 289, the lotus-scroll and auspicious-beast jar, hammers at HK$150 million, attracts a premium of HK$18 million, and invoices at HK$168 million. The octagonal reserved-panel figure jar hammers at HK$85 million, attracts a premium of HK$10.2 million, and invoices at HK$95.2 million.
A few third-party calendars list other 2025 CITIC Hong Kong sessions at a flat 15 percent or 18 percent. If this particular spring sale used a session rate instead of the FAQ bands the invoices would be HK$471.5 million, HK$172.5 million and HK$97.75 million at 15 percent, or HK$483.8 million, HK$177 million and HK$100.3 million at 18 percent.
No official “price realized including commission” line has been published for any of the three lots, so the figures that match the house’s own published conditions remain the 12 percent calculations above. Shipping, insurance and any later import duties are extra.