A PURPLE-SPLASHED 'JUN' BUBBLE BOWL SONG DYNASTY

with steeply rounded sides and contracted rim, springing from a neatly finished foot of wedge-shaped section, covered on the exterior with a pale-blue glaze and vividly decorated with several 'fish-like' splashes in lavender-blue, the interior liberally splashed with irregular blushes of magenta and lavender, drained at the rim to a deep buff and pooling short of the foot, later applied with Japanese gold lacquer restoration

As visible in the catalogue illustration, the bowl has Japanese gold lacquer restoration, which appear to originate from a semi-circular break on the rim approximately 1 1/4 inch wide and includes two restored cracks, one running across the foot and the other along one side. The glaze with fine surface wear. The color is slightly more lavender than the catalogue 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.
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.

It is rare to find a 'jun' bubble bowl with this striking combination of intense and rich splashes on the interior and the unusual arrangement of smaller splashes on the exterior, reminiscent of the bowl from the Collection of Sir David Home, Bt., exhibited at the Oriental Ceramics Society exhibition of Sung Dynasty Wares, Chun and Brown Glazes, London, 1952, Catalogue no. 157 and sold in our Hong Kong rooms 24th November 1987, lot 5. For intensity of coloration, compare the two extraordinary bowls from the Edward T. Chow Collection sold in our London rooms, 16th December 1980, lots 264 and 265, and again in our Hong Kong rooms, the former on 19th May 1987, lot 209, and later in the T.T. Tsui Collection, the latter on 7th June 2000, lot 93.
Similar bowls are illustrated in the Eumorfopoulos Collection, Catalogue, vol. 2, pl. A31 and A32; and in the Matsuoka Collection, Catalogue, 1983, pl. 36, formerly in the Schoenlicht Collection, sold in our London rooms, 13th December 1955, lot 76, and in the H. M. Knight Collection, and sold again in Hong Kong, 18th May 1982, lot 109.