Page 254 - Sotheby's Important Chinese Art, Sept. 21-22, 2-21, NYC

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A FINELY CARVED AND MOLDED ‘DING’ EWER Ding County Museum, Hebei province, illustrated in Ding
NORTHERN SONG DYNASTY Yao Ceramics from the Beixuan Shuzhai Collection, Hong
Kong, 2013, fig. 27. And another ewer with angled sides,
the hexalobed spherical body surmounted by a tall overlapping lotus petals, and very similar dragon spout,
cylindrical, slightly waisted neck, one side applied with standing slightly taller (18.7 cm), is in the Musée Guimet,
an openwork triple-strap loop handle with raised bosses Paris, illustrated in Mino Yutaka, Hakuji [White Porcelain],
terminating in a delicately molded beast-mask at the base, vol. 5. Tokyo, 1998, pl. 40.
opposite a finely articulated dragon head with a curving
elongated spout extending from its open mouth, a column of The petal design on the base of this vessel is also present
bosses on the underside of the spout, the body deftly carved on a white-glazed Xing ware bowl from the Tang dynasty,
with two lush peony blossoms on a meandering leafy scroll formerly in the Percival David Foundation Collection, and
now in the British Museum, London (museum no. PDF.182).
in relief, above petal lappets encircling the base, all under a
translucent cool white glaze Due to the similarity between Xing and Ding wares, this
Height 7¾ in., 17.8 cm bowl was previously believed to be a Ding ware of the Song
dynasty, and only in recent years has it been identified a
PROVENANCE product of the earlier period and kiln site based its glaze
and other properties. For another Ding ware carved with
Offered at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 1st November 1994, lot 5.
this motif, see a box with a similar petal design excavated in
The present ewer is an unusually fine and elaborate example Quyang County, Baoding City, Hebei Province and exhibited
from a small group of early white wares with carved designs. and illustrated in Ding Ware, The World of White Elegance,
Its motifs are individually modeled and combine mythical and Recent Archaeological Findings, Osaka, 2013, p. 121, pl. 14.
natural forms, with the latter informed by direct observation
of native flora, contributing to the overall elegance of the $ 200,000-300,000
design. An ewer of very similar proportions but with a much
simpler handle (perhaps replaced) and slightly simpler 北宋 定窰白釉牡丹紋執壺
design of the flowers is illustrated in Oscar Rücker-Embden,
Chinesische Frühkeramik, Leipzig, 1922, col. pl. 24, with a line 來源：
drawing of the carving, pl. 25, from the author’s collection
and later in the Staatliche Porzellansammlung, Dresden. 上拍於香港蘇富比1994年11月1日，編號5
Compare also an ewer with a similar dragon-head spout
but with a much wider neck and simpler handle in the

252 SOTHEBY’S COMPLETE CATALOGUING AVAILABLE AT SOTHEBYS.COM/N10748 CHINESE CERAMICS: A PRIVATE COLLECTION 253