Page 232 - Sotheby's Asia Week March 2024 Chinee Art

It is extremely rare to find a jar from the Dengfeng kilns What makes this jar so exceptional are the linear ground pat-
of such crisp quality, and even rarer to find one preserved terns on its surface. Large peony scrolls are a popular motif
intact with its cover. The skillful articulation of the peony on vases decorated with the sgraffiato technique. This jar,
flowers is through the sgraffiato technique, which involved however, is unusually elegant in the fine texturing of the
the application of a layer of white slip subsequently carved to negative space, which distinguishes it from typical sgraf-
reveal the brownish body of the piece. It was produced at the fiato wares in which the ground framing the principal design
Dengfeng kilns in Henan province during the early Northern is carved to a ubiquitous black. Here, the space between the
Song dynasty. floral scrolls is filled with fine hatching in different directions
to contrast the bold peony blossoms and leaves. The fluid
The skillful articulation of the peony flowers was achieved lines of carved decoration, together with the color scheme,
through the use of the sgraffiato (literally ‘scratched’) tech- are reminiscent of calligraphy and thus vessels such as the
nique, which first appeared around the late eleventh century. present piece would have been highly prized by literati.
Produced at the Dengfeng kilns in Henan province during
the early Northern Song dynasty, such vessels were created Another jar with similar carving but lacking its cover is illus-
through the application of contrasting layers of slip or glaze. trated in Hsien-Ch’i Tseng and Robert Paul Dart, The Charles
On the present bottle, a layer of white slip was applied over B. Hoyt Collection in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston,
black slip, which was later carefully incised to create decora- 1972, pl. 90. See also a jar illustrated in Graces of Song Wares.
tive patterns by revealing the pristine white layer beneath Treasures from PT Collection, Beijing, 2019, pp 549-52. ‘Deng-
before finally being covered with a layer of clear glaze. This feng’ wares at auction are rare. A Northern Song dynasty
labor-intensive and time-consuming technique adds a sense carved ‘Dengfeng’ pillow from the Yang De Tang Collection
of opulence and luxury to the stoneware. was sold in these rooms, 17th March 2015, lot 71.

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