Lot 373. A rare and exceptionally large Qingbai lobed basin, Song dynasty (960-1279); 31 cm, 12 1/4 in. Estimate 150,000 — 200,000 HKD. Courtesy Sotheby's.
beautifully potted with deep rounded sides rising from a flat base to a flared six-lobed rim, covered overall in a translucent glaze, save for the flat base left unglazed revealing a smooth white body slight browned in the firing.
Provenance: Kochukyo, Tokyo (box).
Exhibited: Exhibition of Far Eastern Ceramics, Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, 1970, cat. no. 44.
Note: The present basin is notable for its exceptionally large size and graceful form. Qingbai wares ranged from robustly potted and elaborately decorated types to a more delicate and thinly potted form, such as the present example. The six-lobed flower shape of this piece appears to derive from Ding porcelain of the late Tang dynasty, reflecting the degree of dialogue between northern and southern ceramists active in the Song dynasty.
Compare a qingbai dish of this form, but of smaller size and covered in a pale-blue glaze, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (II), Hong Kong, 1996, pl. 162. See also a smaller Ding dish of this form, attributed to the Song dynasty, from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. F. Brodie Lodge, included in the Oriental Ceramic Society Exhibition Sung Dynasty Wares, Ting, ying,ch’ing and Tz’u Chou, London, 1949, cat. no 143, and sold in our London rooms, 7th June 1988, lot 127.
Sotheby's. Chinese Art, Hong Kong, 31 may 2018, 11:15 AM