Rare Yuan vase with three handles under celadon glaze. Height: 16.6cm.Celadon stoneware and porcelain is easily one of the most popular and long-lived ceramics styles ever produced in China. The style is thought to have originated during the Five Dynasties period (907 - 960). Its Chinese name, Qingci, translates as "greenish Porcelain." The major group of celadon wares is named for its glaze, which uses iron oxide to give a broad spectrum of colors centered on a jade or olive green, but covering browns, cream and light blues. This is a similar range to that of jade, always the most prestigious material in Chinese art, and the broad resemblance accounts for much of the attractiveness of celadon to the Chinese. Celadons are plain or decorated in relief, which may be carved, inscribed or molded. Sometimes taken by the imperial court, celadons had a more regular market with the scholarly and middle classes, and were also exported in enormous quantities. Important types are: Yue ware, Yaozhou ware and the wider Northern Celadons, Ru ware, Guan ware, and finally Longquan celadon.

In good condition

6.5 x 6 in

2.47 lb