A RARE 'JUN' MALLOW-SHAPED DISH SONG DYNASTY

the shallow rounded sides indented to form ten-petaled lobes, covered allover with an opaque pale blue glaze thinning to mushroom on the ribs and the rim, the base with five spur marks revealing the gray body

There are two small areas of touch up to the rim, covering the top edge of a bruise crack approximately 1 1/2 in., (3.8 cm) long, with an associated pale mark in the glaze visible on the interior. There is also a flake chip and several burst bubbles on the exterior. The dish is warped.
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.

This dish is an outstandingly fine and rare example of Jun ware for its large size and delicate shape which is covered in a fine pale blue glaze. With its thin carefully potted body and luminous translucent glaze, which required spurs for firing, it better resembles the fine imperial Ru and 'guan' wares than the more common heavily-potted and glazed wares in the Jun kilns. Notably there are more extant examples of Ru ware than Jun vessels of this type which suggests that it is a particularly exceptional example of Jun, perhaps made in direct emulation or in competition with Ru.

A dish of closely related form, but of smaller size, from the collections of Lord Cunliffe and Prof and Mrs. P.H. Plesch, was sold in our London rooms, 12th July 2006, lot 39. Compare dishes of this type but with varying numbers of petals, such as a smaller eight-lobed example, in the Palace Museum, Beijing,  illustrated in Selection of Jun Ware. The Palace Museum’s Collection and Archaeological Excavation, Beijing, 2013, pl. 13; and another with eight petals, from the Sir Percival David collection and now in the British Museum, London, published in Illustrated Catalogue of Ru, Guan, Jun, Guangdong and Yixing Wares in the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, London, 1999, no. A4, col. pl. 35, together with another, no. A5; slightly smaller six-lobed dish, included in the exhibition Song. Chinese Ceramics 10th to 13th Century (pt. 3), Eskenazi, New York, 2007, cat. no. 3; and a five-lobed dish of similar size, from the Eumorfopoulos collection, shown in the International Exhibition of Chinese Art, Royal Academy of Art, London, 1935, cat. no. 1093, and sold in our London rooms, 29th May 1940, lot 178.