A 'YAOZHOU' PERSIMMON-GLAZED MEIPING NORTHERN SONG DYNASTY

of elegant baluster form sweeping up to a small waisted neck and wide flared galleried rim, applied overall with a matte persimmon-coloured glaze, a lustrous black glaze showing through beneath the persimmon glaze in a large tear drop on one side and in occasional smaller areas around the body or on top of the rim, the recessed base glazed in brown, the underside of the footring left in the rough revealing a pale grey stoneware

The bottle vase is good overall condition. There are some surface scratches to the glaze on one side, more concentrated near the luting line in one area on the reverse, next to the black patch showing underneath the persimmon glaze. There are some typical expected flaws in the body, including a 2 cm gap in the surface by the shoulder on one side. There is a minute nick above the mouth rim by the edge. There are some old chips to the footrim and some typical kiln accretion on the base. The actual colour is consistent, if not slightly less red compared to the catalogue illustration.
"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."

A smaller vase with a similar flat everted rim, but rounder shoulder, in the Idemitsu Museum of Art, Tokyo, is illustrated in Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1987, pl. 112; another in the National Museum of Korea, Seoul, is published in Sekai toji zenshu, vol. 12, Tokyo, 1977, pl. 123; and a third vase in the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Washington D.C., was included in the exhibition Hare’s Fur, Tortoiseshell, and Partridge Feathers. Chinese Brown and Black-glazed Ceramics 400-1400, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 1996, cat. no. 24. 

Compare also a russet-glazed meiping from the collection of Sir Herbert  and Lady Ingram (R. 320), sold in our London rooms, 16th May 2007, lot 206, and a larger persimmon-glazed meiping sold in our London rooms, 9th June 12th June 2003, lot 117.