A BLACK-GLAZED 'OIL-SPOT' BOWL NORTHERN SONG / JIN DYNASTY

delicately potted with an incurved rim, supported on a short foot ring, covered with an unctuous black-brown glaze painted with irregular metallic purplish 'oil-spots', stopping short of the foot to leave an unglazed area covered with a dark purplish-brown slip, Japanese wood box (3)

Purchased in Tokyo, 1990. 

In good condition, with the exception of an approximately 0.4 cm restored chip at the rim, with associated area of overspray and a tiny 0.1 cm burst glaze bubble. The foot rim with a few shallow flakes. Overall with general surface wear and expected minor firing imperfections.
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.

Compare similar black-glazed 'oil-spot' bowls illustrated in John Ayers, Chinese Ceramics in the Baur Collection, Geneva, 1999, vol. 1, pls 29 and 30; a pair included in the exhibition Hare's Fur, Tortoiseshell, and Partridge Feathers. Chinese Brown- and Black-Glazed Ceramics, 400-1400, Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 1996, cat. nos 43a and b; a single bowl from the Ryoko-in Temple, Kyoto, illustrated in Chugoku no toji: Temmoku, Tokyo, 1999, pl. 24; and a single bowl from the collection of Hirota Matsushige, published in the Illustrated Catalogues of Tokyo National Museum: Chinese Ceramics I, Tokyo, 1988, pl. 610. A shallow oil-spot bowl attributed to Shanxi in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Porcelain of the Song Dynasty, Vol. 1, Hong Kong, 1996, pl. 204.