A PAIR OF 'JIZHOU' 'TORTOISESHELL'-GLAZED BOWLS SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY

each with deep rounded sides rising to a slightly everted rim, covered overall with a dark brownish-black glaze and splashed with caramel-beige tones simulating tortoiseshell, the glaze stopping neatly above the short foot (2)

One bowl with restored breaks to half of the bowl, including at least two sections that have been out and restuck (approx. 4.5 x 3.2 cm and 4.1 x 1.5 cm, respectively). The other bowl with an approx. 6.2 x 3.4 section out and restuck.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Southern Song potters at Jiangxi province's Jizhou kilns developed this lively dappled glaze to apply to various forms of stoneware cups, bowls, and vases. Known in Chinese and English as 'tortoiseshell' glaze, it is characterized by an overall black-coffee color inflected with creamy tones ranging from deep amber to taupe, as seen on the present bowls. The effect seems to have been created by first dipping the vessel in a medium-brown slip glaze then, following the drying, dipping it in a darker brown glaze slurry, splashing it with a paste of wood or bamboo-ash and water, drying it again, and finally firing it right side up in the saggar.

A slightly larger tea bowl in the Simon Kwan Collection was exhibited in Song Ceramics from the Kwan Collection, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1994, cat. no. 170; and a similar one sold in our London rooms, 19th June, 2002. A tea bowl with similar coloration to the present examples sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 7th April 2014, lot 3624; and one with caramel-colored splashes sold in those same rooms, 2nd-3rd June 2016, lot 648.