宋 定窰醬釉盞托

skilfully fashioned after the lacquer prototype with a small cup-shaped receptacle with an incurved rim resting on a circular 'dish' and hollow gently splayed foot, covered overall save for the footring with a copper-russet glaze thinning to the edges of the 'cup' and 'dish', the unglazed footring revealing the white body

家適公司，香港，1990年

Good overall condition, with just typical minor surface wear, especially to the edges and minor flaking and wear to the glaze.
"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."

It is rare to find Dingyao cupstands of this persimmon glaze. Cupstands of this type were used as utensils for preparing and drinking tea as early as the Tang dynasty. It served the practical purpose of an elaborate saucer that held a teabowl while drinking hot tea. This particular form is said to have originated from lacquer and metal cupstands of the Northern Song period. See a lacquer stand excavated from a Song tomb at Heqiao, Yixing county, Jiangsu province, now in the Nanjing Museum, published in Chinese Lacquer from the Jean-Pierre Collection and Others, Eskenazi, London, 1992, p. 10, fig. 3.

For examples of persimmon-glazed Dingyao cupstands of similar form see one with a cup, found in Korea, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, illustrated in Rose Kerr, Song Dynasty Ceramics, London, 2004, pl. 40; another included in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (I), Hong Kong, 1996, pl. 86; and a third example in the Saint Louis Art Museum, included in the exhibition Hare's Fur, Tortoiseshell and Partridge Feathers, Harvard University of Art Museums, Cambridge, Mass., 1995, cat. no. 13. Compare also a cupstand, from the Arthur M. Sackler and Ruth Dreyfus Collections, sold at Christie's New York, 1st December 1994, lot 155; and another sold in these rooms, 2nd May 2000, lot 598.