宋 定窰白釉刻蓮紋大盌 「花」字

the interior deftly and freely carved with a lotus spray issuing blossoms and curled leaves, applied overall with an even ivory-coloured glaze, metal-bound rim, the base incised with a single character hua

The bowl has been broken into two major sections and professionally restored with the original pieces and secured by a metal mount. The interior well has a circular chip of approx. 1 by 1 cm with associated glaze loss. The bowl also has some firing imperfections including a burst air bubble of approx. 1 cm to the exterior.
"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."

The present bowl displays all the characteristics attributed to ‘Ding’ wares known in museum and private collections. Celebrated for their thin potting, fine near-white body and an ivory-colored glaze which tends to run down in somewhat darker ‘tears’, ‘Ding’ wares were ranked among the ‘five great wares’ of the Song a term coined by collectors of the Ming and Qing dynasties.  

The kiln site identified with ‘Ding’ ware is located at Quyang in Ding county, Hebei province. This was an area formerly known as ‘Dingzhou’. ‘Ding’ production consisted mostly of small utilitarian wares such as dishes and bowls, generally left in their natural form undecorated in 10th and early 11th century. From the late 11th century and early 12th century they are increasingly incised and carved and later through the thirteenth century mold-impressed and densely patterned. Rose Kerr in her work on the collection of Song ceramics in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, mentions that the ‘fact that Ding ware was an official ware made one feature of its decoration especially pronounced. This was its tendency to mimic other, more precious materials such as gold and silver, huge quantities of which were stored in palace treasures’. See Rose Kerr, Song Ceramics, London, 1982, p. 102, for further information.

Another bowl of large size, but with carved overlapping petals on the exterior, in the David Percival Foundation illustrated in The World's Great Collections. Oriental Ceramics, vol. 6, Tokyo, 1982, pl. 13; and a much larger basin in the British Museum published in Oriental Ceramics. The World's Great Ceramics, vol. 5, Tokyo, 1982, pl. 56. Compare also the large 'Ding' bowl of similar form and size from the collection of Carl Kempe, but carved with a carp amidst water weeds in the interior, illustrated in Bo Gyllensvärd, Chinese Ceramics in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1964, pl. 416, and sold in our London rooms, 14th May 2008, lot 297.