A carved 'Ding' white-glazed 'lotus' bowl, Northern Song dynasty

Acquired in Beijing, 1937.

Christie's New York, 23rd June 1983, lot 105.

Sotheby's New York, 12th June 1984, lot 212.

Japanese Private Collection.

Elegantly potted and deftly carved with motifs from nature, the present bowl is representative of fine Ding ware and the aesthetic tastes of the Northern Song period. Rising clean out of muddy waters, the lotus was frequently associated with the scholar-official class during the Song dynasty, as it is symbolic of purity, integrity and the Confucian notion of virtue. 

Compare a similar bowl in the British Museum, London, illustrated in The World’s Great Collections: Oriental Ceramics, The British Museum, vol. 5, Tokyo, 1976, pl. 26; another in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Selection of Ding Ware. The Palace Museum's Collection and Archaeological Excavation, Beijing, 2012, pl. 64; a third bowl sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 26th November 2018, lot 8005; and a fourth example, formerly in the collections of Mrs. Alfred Clark and J.T. Tai, sold in our New York rooms, 22nd March 2011, lot 167.