元/明 鈞窯玫瑰紫釉鼓釘三足水仙盆 「三」字款YUAN-MING DYNASTY, 14TH-15TH CENTURY元/明 鈞窯玫瑰紫釉鼓釘三足水仙盆 「三」字款9 in. (22.8 cm.) diam., double Japanese wood boxesJun bulb bowls of this form incised with the numeral san (three) appear to have fewer examples than other numerals. Compare with three ‘numbered three’ Jun bulb bowls of this form, one in purple (23 cm.), sold at Sotheby’s London, 9 November 2005, lot 277; three in lavender-blue, one sold at Sotheby’s New York, 23 March 2011, lot 514 (21 cm.), the second from the Linyushanren collection, sold at Christie’s New York, 22 March 2019, lot 1722 (21.3 cm.).The present bulb bowl is accompanied by double Japanese wood boxes. The underside of the cover of the inner box is inscribed with a signature, Fukkosai, followed by an eponymous seal. Fukkosai was the pseudonym of Matsushige Hiroda (1897-1973). Born in the town of Yatsuo (present day Toyama city), Toyama prefecture, Hirota entered the world of art dealing at the young age of twelve, and was one of the two co-founders of the antique store Kochukyo. In Nihonbashi, Tokyo. In 1947, 1967, and 1972, he donated a total of 496 items to the Tokyo National Museum.Details AN EXTREMELY RARE ‘NUMBERED THREE’ JUN TRIPOD BULB BOWLYUAN-MING DYNASTY, 14TH-15TH CENTURYThe sturdily potted bowl has a band of twenty ‘nail-head’ bosses applied between bow-string borders, and a further seventeen bosses above the three ruyi-form feet. The bowl is covered with a thick glaze, the interior of pale blue and lavender tone and the exterior of mottled magenta that thins to brownish-olive on the raised areas. The base has a thin olive glaze and a ring of spur marks, and is incised with the character san (three).9 in. (22.8 cm.) diam., double Japanese wood boxes Provenance Matsushige Hiroda (1897-1973)Manno Art Museum, Osaka An important private collection, acquired circa 2000 Literature Selected Masterpieces of the Manno Collection, Osaka, 1988, no. 99 Conditions of sale