A 'DING' 'DUCKS AND WATER PLANTS' DISH NORTHERN SONG DYNASTY

the flaring sides rising from an angled base and shortstraight foot to an everted rim, freely carved and combed to the interior with a pair of ducks amidst arrow-head and other water plants, covered overall in a clear ivory glaze pooling in characteristic tear-drops down the exterior, the rim copper bound 

Collection of Howard Back, no.4 (paper label to the base).

 

 

Kunst Indusri Museet, Copenhagen, 1950, cat. no. 314.

'Hsing-Yao and Ting-Yao', The Bulletin of Far Eastern Antiquities, no. 25, 1953, Stockholm, 1953, pl. 72, fig. 64.

Bo Gyllensvärd, Chinese Ceramics in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1964, pl. 415.

Jan Wirgin, Sung Ceramic Designs, Stockholm, 1970, pl. 66a, fig, 8f.

Mary Tregear, Song Ceramics,London, 1982, pl. 55.

The World's Great Collections. Oriental Ceramics, vol. 8, Tokyo, 1982, pl. 112.

Chinese Ceramics in the Carl Kempe Collection, The Museum of Art and Far Eastern Antiquities in Ulricehamn, Ulricehamn, 2002, pl. 617.

With the exception of a minute rim chip and associated 8mm., hairline rim crack, a 3cm., long L-shaped discolouration to the glaze in the interior, an iron-spot impurity to the glaze to the interior of the rim, a 5mm., firing fault to the underside of the base, light glaze scratches and minor firing and glaze imperfections, this very freely carved dish is in very good overall condition.
"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."

This classic Song design, emblematic of fidelity and a happy marriage, is associated with the 'Ding' kilns in Hebei province during the Northern Song period and the motif appears on 'Ding' bowls and dishes of various forms. This particular dish follows a silver prototype, and is one of the most successful shapes with this distinctive motif.

A closely related dish in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, was included in The Special Exhibition of Ting Ware White Porcelain, Taipei, 1987, no. 77; another, with the rim bound in copper, from the Percival David Foundation, London, was included in the exhibition A Hundred Masterpieces of Chinese Ceramics from the Percival David Foundation, Tokyo, 1980, col. pl. 6; a third example in the Freer Gallery of Art, also with a metal rim, is published in Oriental Ceramics: The World's Great Collections, vol. 9, Tokyo, 1981, pl. 58; and a fourth from the collection of Lord Cunliffe is illustrated by Regina Krahl in Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 1, London, 1994, cat. no. 357. See also a related dish carved with a variation of the duck motif sold at Christie's London, 10 December 1984, lot. 620.

The design of two ducks among water plants is well-known from 'Ding' ware. Because ducks are believed to mate for life and to languish and die if separated, they symbolise conjugal fidelity in traditional China and often adorned marriage gifts.