A 'CIZHOU' 'SGRAFFITO' 'PEONY' VASE (MEIPING) NORTHERN SONG DYNASTY

the ovoid body rising to swelling shoulders surmounted by a short neck with flaring rim, skillfully incised through the black slip to the white-dressed body with a dark brown meandering peony scroll, the feathery leafy stems supporting six large open peony blooms, all against a creamy-white glazed ground with fine craquelure, all set between a band of overlapping petals above and a wide border of upright overlapping lappets below, the low foot ring unglazed revealing a pale gray body

Collection of K. Takenouchi, Tokyo.

There is restoration to the neck and rim. The surface with age appropriate wear. The foot is a bit uneven.
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.

The present vase belongs to a rare group of sgraffito wares involving a labor intensive technique to produce the two-slip decoration. After two separate applications of slip, the upper layer of black slip was carefully incised and cut away to reveal the pristine white layer beneath and then a clear glaze was applied overall. Of the related examples, it is important to note not only the similarities but also the subtle differences in the gestural quality of the carving, the proportions of the blossoms and scrolling of the leaves which highlight the individual effort in their making. Shards similarly decorated and carved have been found at the Cizhou kilns at Guantai, Cixian, Hebei Province, the majority of which seem to emerge from strata corresponding to the Northern Song dynasty; for related fragments recovered from this site see Yutaka Mino, The Cizhou Kiln at Guantai, Beijing, 1997, col. pl. 21, fig. 96.

For discussions and illustrations of similar pieces in important collections, compare Suzanne Valenstein, A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1989, p. 93, no. 88 for an illustration of a carved meiping now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. A vase in the British Museum is illustrated in Yutaka Mino, Freedom of Clay and Brush through Seven Centuries in Northern China: Tz'u-chou Type Wares, 960-1600 A.D., Indianapolis Museum of Art, 1981, pp. 102-3, pl. 39 and fig. 97. Others, in the Kyoto National Museum and the Ise Foundation respectively, are published in Charm of Black & White Ware: Transition of Cizhou Type Wares, Osaka Municipal Museum of Art, 2002, nos. 51 and 52. A more freely incised meiping with different borders is in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, illustrated in Wu Tung, Earth Transformed Chinese Ceramics in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, 2001, p 63. The John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection example is illustrated in Treasures of Asian Art: The Asia Society's Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, New York, 1994, p. 161, no. 154. A similar example was sold in these rooms 23rd March 2011, lot 539.