A 'QINGBAI' FIGURE OF A FEMALE 13TH CENTURY

dressed in a long robe and wearing a jewelled headdress she is presenting a peach on a cloth, the slender figure covered in a transparent bluish glaze 

Purchased from Priestley & Ferraro, London, 2000.

The base with a hollow centre. Lower quarter of the figure unglazed. A firing crack to the glaze running across her right shoulder and down her right arm (ca. 4 cm). The glaze glossy and of a slighlty more bluish tone than illustration suggests.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Small qingbai figures of this type can be found modelled for Yuan pillows in the form of a dramatic scene. For example see a piece, decorated with modelled figures, impressed and moulded components and carvings as well as applied beading, modelled in the shape of a dramatic scene that has been artfully contrived to form a rounded and slightly angled pillow, illustrated in Stacey Pierson (ed.), Qingbai Ware: Chinese Porcelain of the Song and Yuan Dynasties, London, 2002, pl. 126. Another pillow decorated with court ladies, in the Fengcheng City Museum, Jiangxi province, is included in Zhongguo taoci quanji, vol. 11, Shanghai, 2000, pl. 6, together with two other pillows of this type similarly modelled with drama scenes, pls. 7-8.