A LARGE 'CIZHOU' BLACK-GLAZED RIBBED JAR NORTHERN SONG/JIN DYNASTY

of globular form, the sides covered with evenly-spaced raised vertical ribs and set with a pair of small strap loop handles on the shoulder, covered overall in a black glaze and thinning to pale brown at the raised ribs and stopping well short of the foot, exposing the buff coloured body

Collection of Francisco Capelo.

Francisco Capelo et. al., Forms of Pleasure. Chinese Ceramics from Burial to Daily Life, London, 2009, pl. 46.

With the exception of a crack between the base of one handle and the jar, a tiny flake of the glaze to the base of the other handle, tiny burst air bubbles overall, the rubbing of glaze to the mouth rim, and light scratches to the glaze overall, this jar is in very good condition.
"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."

The present jar is impressive for its size and is a fine example of wares decorated with raised lines of white slip and typically made by many northern kilns, for example the Baofeng, Lushan and Hebiji kilns in Henan province and the Cizhou kilns in Hebei. See a smaller jar (height 25.4 cm) sold in our New York rooms, 4^th December 1984, lot 228; and another included in Robert D. Mowry, Hare's Fur, Tortoiseshell, and Partridge Feathers, Cambridge, Mass., 1996, pl. 61. Other jars of this type can be found in a number of important museums and private collection; for example see a smaller jar with the ribs arranged in a similar fashion, from the Malcolm collection, sold in these rooms, 29^th March 1977, lot 156, now in the Matsuoka Museum of Art, Tokyo, and illustrated in Toyo toji meihin zuroku, Tokyo, 1991, pl. 33;  and another from the Eumorfopoulos collection, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, published in Rose Kerr, Song Dynasty Ceramics, London, 2004, p. 80, pls. 80 and 80a, where it is mentioned that 'creating ribs were used at many kilns, the more refined types tending to come from  the workshops in Henan and Hebei provinces.' See another jar of this form, from the Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, included in the special exhibition Charm of Black and White Ware: Transition of Cizhou Type Wares, Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, Osaka, 2002, cat. no. 144.

Another smaller jar excavated from the Zibo kiln site was included in the exhibition Kiln Sites of Ancient China, Oriental Ceramics Society, London, 1980, cat. no. 434, together with a fragment of a similar jar with a taller neck, from the Baofeng kiln site in Henan, no. 419.