A RARE 'CIZHOU' WHITE-GLAZED SGRAFFIATO DEEP BOWL NORTHERN SONG / JIN DYNASTY |

raised on a splayed foot, the steeply rounded sides incurving towards the wide mouth, covered overall in an ivory-colored glaze cut away leaving a broad chevron register enclosing demi-florettes alternating with foliate petals, with a narrow band of overlapping petals above, between single line borders, the footrim unglazed and burnt reddish-brown in the firing, lacquered wood cover, two Japanese wood boxes (6)

Hirano Koto-ken, Tokyo, circa 1960.
Sotheby's London, 14th July 1981, lot 78.

Chūgoku Kotōji Tō-Sō Meitoten [Chinese ceramics. The exhibition of Tang-Song masterworks], Japan Ceramic Society, Tokyo, 1964, cat. no. 192.
Chūgoku Kohijutsu-ten [Exhibition of Classical Chinese Works], Fukuoka-Tamaya Department Store, 1975, cat. no. 5.

Fujio Kayoma et al (eds.), Sekai Toji Zenshu So Ryo [Collection of world's ceramics. Song and Liao], vol. 10, Tokyo, 1961, pl. 118. 

An oval patch to the interior wall that has been consolidated, measuring apprx. 2.5 cm in height. Overall with firing imperfections including scattered minute glaze flakes.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Deep rounded bowls, such as the present example, are one of the most iconic forms produced at the Cizhou kilns during the Northern Song and Jin periods. Several bowls of this form were excavated from the Guantai kilns, Cixian, Hebei province, and the form is found applied with a plain white glaze and with a variety of sgraffiato techniques, including incised designs on a wave ground, designs painted and incised through a dark slip and designs both incised and cut away, as with the current example. Four Cizhou bowls of this form decorated in different techniques are illustrated in Mayuyama, Seventy Years, Tokyo, 1976, pls 548-551. The designs found on deep bowls of this type decorated with in sgraffiato techniques largely incorporate geometric, cloud and foliate bands. Compare one incised with a cloud scroll against a wave ground from the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, illustrated in 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, cat. no. 35, where a selection of related bowls is illustrated, ibid, p. 95, figs 81, 83-85.

The present design of triangular lappets below a scroll ground can also be compared with a brown-slip decorated sgraffiato jar, included in the exhibition Sekai Toji Zenshu/Ceramic Art of the World Song-Liao, vol. 10, Tokyo, 1955, cat. no. 101 and sold as part of the Linyushanren Collection at Christie’s New York, 13th September 2018, lot 827.