A PAIR OF AMBER-GLAZED CERAMIC ‘PHOENIX HEAD’ VASESChina, Liao dynasty40 cm high eachThe high-shouldered vases with tall ribbed neck ending in a phoenix head just below a foliated cup mouth, the exterior covered with an amber glaze stopping short of the unglazed foot, the body of a piece with a fine incised decoration of flowers.Provenance: ambassador Francesco Rausi.A similar vase is in the Museum of East Asian Art in Bath (see B. Shane McElney, The Museum of East Asian. Inaugural Exhibition. Volume I – Chinese Ceramics, Bath 1993, n. 55); another comparable example is in the Minneapolis Institute of Art (inv. n. 95.33.1).