Lot 309
  • 309

AN IMPRESSIVE SANCAI 'LOTUS' DISH TANG DYNASTY |

Estimate
60,000 - 100,000 HKD
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Description

  • 23.6 cm, 9 1/4  in.
the rounded sides supported on a flat base, impressed in the centre with a stylised lotus, the central pod encircled by star-shaped petals with curled edges, all in green, chestnut and straw glazes reserved on a dappled ground, encircled around the well by five large semi-circular petals, the exterior and base unglazed

Provenance

Collection of K.M. Semon.
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Bernat.
Sotheby's New York, 7th November 1980, lot 58.
Collection of Dr. Ip Yee.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 19th November 1984, lot 140.
Collection of T.Y. Chao (1912-1999).

Literature

Warren E. Cox, The Book of Pottery and Porcelain, vol. I, New York, 1945, pl. 264.

Condition

The outer rim has an old restored chip of approx. 3.5 cm, with an associated retouched hairline to the interior wall. The dish also has some typical glaze flakes and three spur marks to the central well. There is also some expected wear to the sancai glaze on the outside.
"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."

Catalogue Note

Basins of this pattern are illustrated in Toji Taikei [Ceramic Great Series], vol. 35, Tokyo, 1974, pls 58 and 59; and one partly glazed in blue from the Cunliffe collection is illustrated in the Matsuoka Collection Catalogue, Tokyo, 1983, cat. no. 13, sold in our London rooms, 1st April 1974, lot 29; and another similar basin illustrated in Mayuyama, Seventy Years, Tokyo, 1976, pl. 284.

Other dishes impressed with the same medallion but with different glazes are illustrated in The Art of the T'ang Potter, London, 1960, pl. XVII, in the Victoria and Albert Museum; and in Three Colour Glaze Pottery of the T'ang Dynasty, vol. II, Hong Kong, 1977, pl. 89, in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; and one with a different central medallion but similar border in Early Chinese Pottery and Porcelain, London, 1952, pl. 32, from the Calmann Collection.

An unglazed fragment from a bowl of this form, impressed with the same central motif, was included in the O.C.S. Exhibition of the Kiln Sites of Ancient China, London, 1980, cat. no. 372, from the kiln site at Gongxian, Henan, the only kiln producing sancai wares of the Tang dynasty discovered up to that time.