Page 120 - Bonhams Chiense Paintings New York July 21 2020

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A DINGYAO CARVED ‘DAY-LILY’ DISH Day-lilies are known in China by a number of different names. They
Song/Jin Dynasty were called xuancao because they were known to only flower for one
Potted with a canted base rising to gently flared sides, the unglazed day; wangyoucao as they were thought to dispel grief; and yi’nancao
rim with six notches, the interior freely carved with a stalk bearing two because it was believed that if a pregnant woman wore the flower she
day-lily blossoms and curling leaves, all covered with a rich creamy would have male offspring.
glaze and supported on a short foot ring.
8 3/4in (22.3cm) diameter Boldly-carved decorations featured on Ding ware are a Song dynasty
innovation and have a painterly quality. Compare with a related Song
US$10,000 - 15,000 dynasty Dingyao dish carved with floral design in the Qing Court
Collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the
Palace Museum: Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (I), Hong Kong, 1996,
宋 定窰白釉刻萱草紋盤 p.71, pl.62. A related pair of Song dynasty Dingyao dishes is illustrated
in Bright as Silver: White as Snow: Chinese White Ceramics from Late
Tang to Yuan Dynasty, Examples from the Kai-Yin Lo Collection, Hong
Kong, 1998, pl.20.

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