A rare 'lingwu' black-glazed sgraffiato 'floral' dish, Xixia dynasty

Capital Gallery, The International Asian Art Fair, New York, March 2002.

This finely potted bowl belongs to a rare group of wares from the Xixia (also known as Tangut or Western Xia) dynasty in the northwest of China, which coexisted with the Song, Liao and Jin dynasties. The Lingwu kiln was located at Ciyaobao of Lingwu country, Ningxia, which lies 50 kilometers south of the capital of Xixia, Yinchuan, and was one of the major sites of ceramic production under the Xixia.

Further examples of Xixia wares decorated with similar cut-glaze techniques include a jar in the Meiyintang Collection, illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 1, London, 1994, pls 454 and 455; a white ‘cut-glaze’ meiping with leafy peony design, from the collection of Ruth Stricker and Bruce Dayton and now in the Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis (accession no. 2001.8); and a wine jar from the Malcolm Collection, sold in these rooms, 20th March 2019, lot 640.

The dating of this lot is consistent with the results of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no. P124a95.