Lot 510
  • 510

A RARE 'CIZHOU' BROWN-GLAZED SGRAFFIATO MEIPING JIN DYNASTY |

Estimate
12,000 - 15,000 USD
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Description

  • Height 9 3/4  in., 24.9 cm 
the steeply rounded sides swelling to a shouldered baluster body surmounted by a short waisted neck and tall angled tapering rim, applied overall with a thick brownish-black glaze, carved through to the buff body leaving a broad foliate scroll at the shoulder above a band of upright lappets to the body, each framed within concentric line borders, the countersunk base unglazed, Japanese wood box (3)

Provenance

Collection of Edward T. Chow (1910-1980).
Sotheby’s London, 16th December 1980, lot 235.
Hirano Koto-ken, Tokyo, 1981. 

Condition

Overall in good condition with a small chip to the mouthrim. Very light wear and scattered firing imperfections including a circular firing loss measuring apprx. 0.7 cm.
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.

Catalogue Note

Skilfully carved with a foliate scroll and petals in the sgraffiato technique, meiping of this type were seldom produced in such small sizes. This piece belongs to a distinct group of so-called ‘Cizhou’ wares made by many kilns in north China. Examples of fragments of wares carved in this bold style from kiln sites at Wayaogou, Datong, and at Hunyuan, both in Shanxi province, were included, in the Oriental Ceramic Society exhibition Kiln Sites of Ancient China. Recent Finds of Pottery and Porcelain, British Museum, London, 1980, cat. nos 475-478, 487 and 490.   

A larger meiping of this type with very similar carving, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures in the Palace Museum. Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (I), Hong Kong, 1996, pl. 216; one from the Yokogawa Tamisuke Collection, in the Tokyo National Museum, is published in Illustrated Catalogue of Tokyo National Museum. Chinese Ceramics I, Tokyo, 1988, pl. 629; and a third in the Musée Cernuschi, Paris, is published in Jan Wirgin, Sung Ceramic Designs, Stockholm, 1970, pl. 54l. Compare also a larger meiping, where the design is divided in three separate bands, in the Museum of East Asian Art, Bath, included in the catalogue of the Museum’s Inaugural Exhibition, vol. I: Ceramics, Bath, cat. no. 107; another sold in our London rooms, 14th November 2000, lot 134; and a further example sold at Christie’s New York, 18th-19th September 2014, lot 754.