A LARGE 'CIZHOU' PAINTED 'FLORAL' MEIPING SONG – JIN DYNASTY

elegantly potted, of slender meiping form, the exterior freely and boldly decorated in black over a white slip with floral blooms borne on leafy stems meandering across the vessel, all between horizontal bands encircling the neck and lower body

The meiping is in overall good condition with burst air bubbles and shallow glaze flakes, as visible in the catalogue illustration.
"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."

This meiping vase ranks among the largest 'Cizhou' wares and is most impressive for its superb bold painting and the strong contrast of black painting against the white-slip ground. Vases of similar form and black-painted decoration are very rare, although they are represented in a few famous collections worldwide, with variations in size, proportion and designs. The present vase is probably unique as no identical example appears to be recorded.

There seem only two vases very similar to the present piece in form and design. One in a Japanese collection and slightly smaller, was included in Gakuji Hasabe, Toki zenshu, no.13, So no Jishuyo [Complete Series on Ceramics, no.13, Cizhou ware of the Song dynasty], Tokyo, 1958, pl. 33, and also illustrated in exhibition catalogue by Yutaka Mino, Freedom of Clay and Brush Through Seven Centuries in Northern China: Tz'u-chou Type Wares 960 - 1600 A.D, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, 1980, fig. 179, where Mino mentioned that vessels of this form were made at various kilns for use as wine jars from the 12th through the 14th centuries. It is further mentioned that vases of this type are often decorated with frond-like patterns painted with flicking brush strokes that radiate from the central point, a style that is characteristic of wares made in Yuxian, Henan province. The other vase, with a band of lotus petals around the upper shoulder, is included in exhibition catalogue Haku to koku no kyōen/Charm of Black and White Ware. Transition of Cizhou type wares, Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, Osaka, 2002, cat. no. 81. Also known is a meiping smaller and of different form, sold in our New York rooms, 12th March 1986, lot 235.

Also related are a few meiping vases with comparable frond-like motif, but divided into sections by black horizontal bands. These include two in the Palace Museum, Beijing, respectively included in Zhongguo taoci quanji [Complete series on Chinese ceramics], Shanghai, 1999-2000, vol. 7, pl. 201, and in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (I), Hong Kong, 1996, pl. 152 (fig. 1); one ranked by the Japanese government as Important Art Work and illustrated in Charm of Black and White Ware, op. cit., cat. no. 82; one in the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, Kansas City and illustrated in Yutaka Mino, op. cit., cat. no. 68; one in the Idemitsu Museum of Art and included in exhibition catalogue Cizhou Ware of China - Its Charm and Taste, Idemitsu Museum of Art, Tokyo, 2005, cat. no. 3, and one sold in our London rooms, 10th June 1986, lot 163.