a carved 'qingbai' vase (meiping) Yuan dynasty

of upright form with rounded shoulders tapering to the base, the exterior carved with a top register of floral scrolls, a large central register of a single striding dragon partly hidden among stylized combed waves, the short neck with a lipped mouth rim, all above a high lappet skirt, the translucent light-blue glaze pooling to a darker hue in the carving, the unglazed foot rim revealing the pale body, stand (2)

The vase leans slightly, but this does not detract from its well-potted shape. The mouth rim has some warpage. The luting line near the top of the central dragon register is visible. The foot with a 1 inch wide kiln flaw now with a thick pooling of glaze. The exterior with minor burst air bubbles and very minor kiln grit. The inside of the neck with small burst air bubbles. In very good overall condition. Inspected under UV light. The colors on the catalogue image are a little washed out.
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.

Qingbai vases of this form and decoration are precisely datable since several examples are known from archaeological sites dated to the early 1320's.  See a meiping recovered from the ship wrecked off the coast of Korea in 1323 and now in the National Museum of Korea, Seoul, decorated with the same borders and dragon design, included in the Special  Exhibition of Cultural Relics Found Off Sinan Coast, National Museum of Korea, Seoul, 1977, cat.no. 150; and another closely related meiping in the British Museum, London, illustrated in J.M. Addis, Chinese Porcelain from the Addis Collection, London, 1979, pl. 2.

A further pair of meiping with covers, excavated from a tomb in Wannian county, Jiangxi province, dated in accordance with A.D. 1324, is published in Peng Shifan (ed.), Dated Qingbai Wares of the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Hong Kong, 1998, cat.no. 97; one of them illustrated again in Zhongguo taoci quanji, vol. 11, Shanghai, 2000, pl. 47. See also a similar vase illustrated in Timothy Potts (ed.), Kimbell Art Museum. Handbook of the Collection, Fort Worth, Texas, 2003, p. 197, upper left. A slightly smaller vase of this type, from the Wannieck and Mayer collections and included in the exhibition, Chinese Art Under the Mongols. The Yuan Dynasty, Cleveland Museum of Art, 1968, cat.no. 99, was sold at Christie's London; another, from the Plesch collection, was sold in our London rooms, 12th July 2006, lot 47; a vase of somewhat larger proportions, from the Toguri Museum of Art, Tokyo, was also sold in our London rooms, 9th June 2004, lot 58.

Qingbai meiping of this type can also be found decorated with a broad band of combed waves instead of a freely carved dragon; for example, see a vessel from the Muwen Tang collection included in the exhibition Song Ceramics from the Kwan Collection, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1994, cat.no. 201, and sold in our London rooms, 12th November 2003, lot 62.