A JUNYAO PURPLE-SPLASHED DISH NORTHERN SONG – JIN DYNASTY

well potted with shallow sides rising from a short foot to a wide everted rim, covered overall save for the foot with a thick milky-blue glaze thinning to a mushroom tone at the edges and liberally decorated with two large lavender splashes on the interior, the glaze faintly suffused with a network of beige crackles, the unglazed foot revealing the grey body burnt brownish-orange in the firing

Galaxie Company, Hong Kong, 30th December 1987.

This dish in very good condition with only characteristic pinholes, including one with attendant glaze flake to the interior an 0.6 cm characteristic green-black spot, and a tiny glaze flake to the outer edge of the rim. Some light crazing to the glaze with minor calcification.
"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 Junyao dish is remarkable for its rich and attractively distributed purple splashes. Most comparable dishes are predominantly glazed in blue, but a similar dish was sold in our London rooms, 12th November 2003, lot 134. Two Junyao dishes with bright purple splashes from the William Cleverly Alexander Collection were sold in our London rooms, 6th May 1931, lots 144 and 150, the former sold again in these rooms, 21st May 1985, lot 70, the latter now in the Percival David Foundation, illustrated in The World's Great Collections: Oriental Ceramics, vol. 6, Tokyo, 1982, col. pl. 17.