A MATCHED PAIR OF CARVED QINGBAI ‘FLORAL SCROLL’ BOWLS SONG DYNASTY

each delicately potted with flaring conical sides supported on a straight foot, freely carved to the interior with three floral blooms borne on an undulating leafy scroll, all reserved on a ground of combed spirals, covered overall in a vitreous pale blue glaze, the base unglazed revealing the buff-coloured body mottled with greyish-brown

Collection of Francisco Capelo.

These pair of bowls are in reasonably good condition, but one has a small 8mm crack to the rim, with two small shallow associated chips (2mm by 2mm and 3mm by 2mm). There is also another shallow chip (5mm by 2mm) to the exterior rim. The other bowl has three glaze cracks below the rim to the interior and both have some minor burst bubbles, iron spots and scratches to the glaze (the latter especially to the interior).
"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."

Qingbai wares were manufactured in a number of kilns in the provinces of Jiangxi, Fujian and Anhui from at least the 10^th century, and their popularity continued throughout the Song dynasty (960-1279) due to their luminous jade-like appearance.  The Southern Song ceramic historian, Jiang Qi notes in his treatise Tao ji (Ceramic Records) that white porcelain produced in Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province was so refined and pure that it was known as Raoyu (jade of Rao), the region in which the Jingdezhen kilns were located. Although the early potters at Jingdezhen may have modelled their earliest qingbai pieces on Yue ware, by the Five Dynasties and Northern Song periods they often looked to Ding ware for aesthetic inspiration. The swift and confident lines of carving as well as the combed ground are comparable with a lobed Ding bowl decorated with lotus blooms, from the Carl Kempe collection, illustrated in Jan Wirgin, Sung Ceramic Designs, Stockholm, 1970, pl. 63a, and sold in these rooms, 14^thMay 2008, lot 252.

 

Qingbai bowls of this type include a smaller example in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (II), Hong Kong, 1996, pl. 186; and one in the British Museum, London, published in Stacey Pierson, Qingbai Ware. Chinese Porcelain of the Song and Yuan Dynasties, London, 2002, pl. 11. Compare also a bowl with lobed rim, illustrated in John Ayers, The Baur Collection, Geneva. Chinese Ceramics, vol. 1, Geneva, 1968, pl. A121; and another in the collection of Gerard M. Greenwald, sold at Christie’s New York, 16^th September 2011, lot 1469.