Page 86 - Sothebys Fine Chinese Art London, November 2018

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A RARE DING-TYPE CARVED EWER The present ewer is unusual for its elongated ovoid shape and
FIVE DYNASTIES/EARLY NORTHERN densely carved decoration. Its form appears to have derived
SONG DYNASTY from kundika (‘pure-water bottle’), a metal vessel that was
known to have used in Buddhist ceremonies since the Tang
dynasty (618-907); see a bronze example in the Idemitsu
the ovoid body rising from a short spreading foot to an angled Museum of Arts, Tokyo, illustrated in Ancient Chinese Arts in
shoulder and a tall tapering ribbed neck with everted rim, the the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1989, pl. 328.
shoulder carved with a band of overlapping lotus petals divided
by a short spout, the body carved with large stiff overlapping White-glazed ewers of this type were known to have been
leaves with double edges, covered overall with a creamy-ivory produced at the kilns at the Ding prefecture, modern day Hebei
glaze falling short of the splayed foot to reveal the white body province, from as early as the Five Dynasties period. Early
25.4 cm, 10 in. white-glazed wares from these kilns are characterised by the
boldly carved design, its depth accentuated by the creamy-
‡ £ 50,000-70,000 ivory colour glaze. Ewers of various forms attributed to the
HK$ 510,000-710,000 US$ 65,000-90,500 early Northern Song period, were excavated in 1969 from
the foundation of Jingzhong Yuan, Dingzhou, Hebei province
五代/北宋初 定系白釉刻葉紋壺 and preserved in the Dingzhou City Museum, Dingzhou City,
including one with a dragon-head spout carved with a band of
lappets on the body, and another rendered with stylised scrolls
panelled by two bands of lotus petals, illustrated in Zhongguo
dingyao/Ding Kiln of China, Beijing, 2012, pls 112 and 114
respectively.

84 SOTHEBY’S