AN EXCEPTIONAL DING-TYPE RUSSET-SPLASHED BLACK-GLAZED FOLIATE DISH NORTHERN SONG DYNASTY

the short, slightly flared foot rising to a flattened base and flared petal-lobed rim, the interior covered in a rich black glossy 'partiridge feather' glaze suffused with an irregular scattering of feathery russet flecks, with a similar glaze to the exterior stopping short of the foot

Collection of Alfred Clark.
Sotheby's London, 25 March 1975, lot 21.
Collection of the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo.
Christie's New York, 21 March 2002, lot  137.
Collection of Francisco Capelo.

Arts de la Chine Ancienne, Orangerie de Tuileries, Paris, 1937, cat. no. 665.
Sung Dynasty Wares. Chun and Brown Glazes, Oriental Ceramic Society, London, 1952, cat. no. 54.
L'Art de la Chine des Song, Paris, 1956, cat. no. 78.
Arts of Sung, Oriental Ceramic Society, London, 1960, cat. no. 69.

Idemitsu Tenth Anniversary, Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo, 1976, cat. no. 103.

Gendai no toji, Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo, 1979, cat. no. 75.

Idemitsu Fifteenth Anniversary, Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo, 1981, cat. no. 728.

Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1987, pl. 107.

Francisco Capelo et. al., Forms of Pleasure. Chinese Ceramics from Burial to Daily Life, London, 2009, pl. 35.

This exceptionally rare dish has two conserved hairlines, running from the rim, 4.5cm and 4cm respectively.
"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."

Decorated with an irregular pattern of small splashes of iron-oxide which creates the stunning effect of small 'partridge-feather' mottles, often seen on black-glazed conical-form bowls of the Northern Song period, the present dish is unusual for its elegant flower shape.  No other similar example appears to be recorded, however, the type is known from vessels covered in a deep russett-glaze, such as the dish in the Idemitsu collection included in the museum's exhibition Gendai no toji, Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo, 1979, cat. no. 76; and another slightly smaller example, from the collection of Harry Nail and later Hans Popper, included in the exhibition Song Ceramics from the Hans Popper Collection, Eskenazi, London, 1995, cat. no. 36.

The elegant form of this dish is well known from 'Ding' vessels, for example see a dish of this shape and size sold in these rooms, 9th November 2005, lot 269; and a pair of dishes of slightly smaller dimensions but of closely related form, from the collection of Carl Kempe, also sold in these rooms, 14th May 2008, lot 237. 

Another persimmon-glazed dish of this type is illustrated in Robert D. Mowry, Hare's Fur, Tortoiseshell and Partridge Feathers, Cambridge, Mass., 1996, pl. 20, where Mowry on p. 119, notes that dishes of this form reflect the influence of black and dark brown lacquer vessels that were popular during the Song dynasty. He further explains that the form can be found in 'Ding' wares as well as other Northern wares, especially 'Yaozhou', with different kilns producing similar vessels for the same market.

See another persimmon-glazed dish of closely related shape in the Musee Guimet, Paris, included in the Oriental Ceramic Society exhibition Arts of the Sung Dynasty, London, 1960, cat. no. 38, illustrated pl. 19; and another from the Sedgwick collection sold in these rooms 2nd July 1968, lot 108, and again, 24th July 1973, lot 8.

For examples of vessels covered with partridge-feather mottles see a conical bowl, from the Hakutsuru Fine Art Museum, included in the exhibition Charm of Black and White Ware; Transition of Cizhou Type Wares, Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, Osaka, 2002, cat. no. 149, together with a covered bowl decorated  in this manner, from the Tokyo Fuji Yurinkan, cat. no. 150.