A 'longquan' celadon carved vase (meiping) Northern Song Dynasty

the ovoid body finely carved with a wide central band containing two registers of scrolling lotus blossoms, above a high skirt with two registers of overlapping lappets, a single band of lappets at the shoulder, all with finely combed detailing, the short upright neck culminating in an everted mouth rim, applied overall with an olive-green glaze pooling to a deeper tone in the recesses, the unglazed foot rim and recessed base revealing the pale orange-spotted body

Acquired by the present owner on the Hong Kong art market in 1994.

The vase has a light lean. The glaze has a concentrated area of crackling on the higher lappets at the bottom, with some long glaze cracks extending into the wide lotus band. The center of the lotus band with a 1 3/4 inch long firing flaw, a minor part of it glazed over, the remainder showing the pale body. Some minor fritting around the mouth rim and the shoulder. One side of the vase with discolored gray olive-green glaze. Inspected under UV light.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Meiping of this type belong to early 'Longquan' wares that are particularly rare. A vase of similar proportions and incised decoration was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 5th November 1996, lot 725. Compare also a smaller related vase, from the collection of Sir Herbert and Lady Ingram and now in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, illustrated in Sekai toji zenshu, vol. 12, Tokyo, 1977, p. 198, no. 179, which is decorated with a peony scroll with smaller blooms arranged in three ranks; and another smaller vase with a similar lotus scroll design in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, published in Jan Wirgin, Sung Ceramic Designs, Stockholm, 1970, pl. 37h.

An early 'Longquan' vase of this type but  with a less distinctive rim and carved with a denser scroll of smaller flowers, in the collection of the Chang Foundation, is included in James Spencer, Selected Chinese Ceramics from Han to Qing Dynasties, Taipei, 1990, pl. 59.

For a piece of the type which may have inspired the making of this type of meiping, see the vase of slightly different shape with a more angled shoulder and carved with a peony scroll design, attributed to the Five Dynasties period (907-960) illustrated in Longquan qingci, Beijing, 1966, pl. 2.