A SMALL KOREAN SANGGAM INLAID CELADON OIL JAR

Goryeo dynasty (918 — 1392)

With a flattened body and a short narrow neck with a flared rim, inlaid with a band of chrysanthemums encircling the shoulder between simple bands, all decorated with a celadon glaze with fine crackles

7.5cm

Provenance: Woolley & Wallis, 30th April 2013, lot 617, previously in the collection of Sister Wendy Beckett (1930 - 2018)

PLEASE NOTE THIS LOT IS OFFERED WITHOUT RESERVE

Sister Wendy Mary Beckett (1930–2018), was a British Catholic sister of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, the order dedicated to the education of the poor. Born in Johannesburg, she came to study at St Anne’s College, Oxford, where she received a first class degree under J. R. R. Tolkien. She refused his offer to stay in university, and instead decided to devote her life to teaching in South Africa.

Unfortunately poor health forced her to abandon her mission and return to England, where she lived a hermitic life earning her living by translating medieval latin scripts. In 1980 she took interest in art and began writing books, particularly about contemporary women artists. A chance encounter with a BBC video crew at an exhibition led to a television series named Sister Wendy’s Odyssey starting in 1992.

Her honest, effusive descriptions and infectious enthusiasm made her an unlikely TV star, while she continued to write on the subject of art history.