Page 244 - Sothebys HK Dragon Emperor April 2024

3678
PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT JAPANESE COLLECTION 西夏 靈武窰黑釉剔牡丹紋罐
A MASSIVE LINGWU BROWN-GLAZED
SGRAFFIATO ‘PEONY’ JAR, 來源：
WESTERN XIA DYNASTY 繭山龍泉堂，東京，2005年9月
47 cm
PROVENANCE
Mayuyama & Co., Ltd, Tokyo, September 2005.

HK$ 600,000-800,000
US$ 77,000-103,000

This enormous jar belongs to a rare group of wares from
the Xixia (also known as Tangut or Western Xia) dynasty
in the northwest of China. Located 50 kilometres south of
the capital, Yinchuan, the Lingwu kiln centre in modern-day
Ningxia was one of the major sites of ceramic production
under the Xixia and has garnered significant international
interest since its excavation in the 1980s.
Strongly influenced by Cizhou and Ding wares from the
neighbouring Song state, the potters of Lingwu masterfully
employed the popular sgraffiato technique; carving into
the chocolate-brown glazed surface to reveal the sandy-
white clay body below. The lush peony design on this jar
accentuates its heavily thrown yet voluptuous form. Also
noteworthy is the design’s varied treatment of negative
space: on one side, the dark background is carved delicately
in waves of geometric hatching; on the other, it is stripped
away completely in a moment of drama.
Smaller examples of Xixia jars decorated with similar
techniques are published in Ma Wenkuan, Ningxia Lingwu
Yao / Ancient Porcelain Kilns at Lingwu, Ningxia, Beijing,
1988, passim; others are included in the Meiyintang
Collection, illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from
the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 1, London, 1994, pls 451-455.
Another related wine jar with handles was sold in our New
York rooms, 13th September 2017, lot 99.

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