A SMALL 'LONGQUAN' BRUSH WASHER SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY

the straight flared sides rising from a sharply angled base supported on a shallow, tapering footrim, covered overall with a rich glaze of soft bluish-gray-green color, the unglazed footrim revealing a pale gray body, the edges burnt reddish brown in the firing, Japanese wood box

There is a very small polished down chip to the rim.
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 shallow form with flared sides is identified as a brush washer in various Chinese archaeological publications:  Longquan Qingci Yanjiu, 1989, drawing fig 12.4, p. 83 and plate V,3, illustrating an example excavated from a Song period tomb in the Shaoxing district; a similar washer illustrated in Liu Tao, Dated Ceramics of the Song, Liao and Jin Periods, Beijing, 2004, p. 91, no. 6-13 found in the tomb of Madam Han at Zhangshu, Qingjiang, Jiangxi province and dated by epitaph to the first year of Jingding (A.D. 1260). The same piece is illustrated again in Longquan yao yanjiu, (The Research of Longquan Kiln), Beijing, 2011, p. 39, no. 8, and described as "a new form that appeared in the Southern Song period." Compare also a very similar brush washer of the same size and form illustrated and discussed in the exhibition Song Dynasty Ceramics, the Ronald W. Longsdorf Collection, J.J. Lally & Co., New York, 2013, cat. no.  no. 7.