A 'QINGBAI' PETAL-MOULDED EWER AND COVER SONG DYNASTY

the globular-shaped body rising from a short straight foot to a narrow cylindrical neck, carved around the exterior with three over-lapping bands of stiff petals divided by a strap handle to one side and a short curved spout to the other, the domed straight-sided cover surmounted with a seated lion finial, covered overall with a pale bluish-white glaze

A four-pointed hairline body crack extending ca. 7cm from the foot up towards the handle and ca. 4cm around lower body. There is very minor overall scratching and rubbing to the glaze. TIny glaze chips to the tips of the ears of the seated lion. Fritting to the rim of the cover and a firing crack (ca. 2.5cm) to the lower part of the cover. The colour of the glaze is of a slightly cooler, bluish tone than the illustration suggests.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

It is extremely rare to find qingbai ewers decorated with over-lapping upright lotus petals, a design element more commonly found on 'Ding' wares of the Song period. See a 'Ding' ewer, in the Musee Guimet, Paris, illustrated in Sekai toji zenshu, vol. 12, Tokyo, 1977, pl. 152, together with a 'Ding' vase carved with over-lapping upright leaves around the body, pl. 131.  

The shape of the present ewer replicates metalwork prototypes. For related ewers see the famous ewer and warmer excavated from a tomb at Susong, Anhui province, illustrated in Historical Relics Unearthed in New China, Beijing, 1972, pl. 175, with a leaf collar around the shoulder; and another excavated from a tomb dated in accordance with A.D. 1087 in the same county, published in Sekai toji zenshu, op.cit., pl. 152, with a very similar cover. Compare also an qingbai ewer carved with petals on the foot and cover, in the British Museum, London, from the Eumorfopoulos collection, included in Oriental Ceramics. The World's Great Collections, vol. 5, Tokyo, 1981, col. pl. 16. 

See also a ewer and warmer, with a cover similarly surmounted by a lion finial, sold in our New York rooms, 23rd March 2004, lot 619.  A hand-modeled lion knob can be found on a plain ewer from the Idemitsu Museum of Arts included in the exhibition Song Ceramics, Tobu Museum of Art, 1999, cat.no. 44; and on another ewer published in the Chai and Hutian Kiln, Guangzhou, 2003, p. 166, from the Hutian kiln site at Jingdezhen. For examples of the over-lapping leaf decoration on qingbai wares, see a jar published in Sekai toji zenshu, op.cit., pl. 151.