A RARE ‘DING’ SLIP-DECORATED 'LOTUS’ PILLOW SONG DYNASTY

of waisted rectangular form, painted in pale russet-brown on an ivory-white ground, each face of the pillow depicting luxuriant floral blooms borne on curling stems issuing foliate tendrils and large lotus pads with furled edges, all beneath a transparent glaze

There is a crack to the upper rear right corner when looking at the illustration in the catalogue. There is another restored crack to the lower corner as well as another break to the rear left corner of the pillow, with an associated restored chip to the corner of the pillow, visible in the top left corner in the left detail illustration on p. 52 of the catalogue. There is a small flake to another corner which has been filled in. There are a few further occasional nicks or flakes around the edges as well as firing impurities as visible in the catalogue photo. All these have been restored with some old spraying, which is now yellowing and flaking as visible in the catalogue photo. The pillow would benefit from professional cleaning.
"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."

Notable for its freely carved design of curling lotus flowers, this pillow is a rare example of Ding-type ware with sgraffiato decoration. This laborious technique required the application of a layer of brown slip to the white body, which is then carved and incised to form the pattern and reveal the white body beneath, hence creating a particularly vivid and attractive contrast. Qin Dashu in ‘A Study of the Relationship between Cizhou and Ding Wares’, Transactions of the Oriental Ceramic Society, vol. 65, 2000-2001, pp. 10 and 11, notes that the light brown tones of the coloured slip seen on Ding-type wares with sgraffiato designs, such as this pillow, was due to a shortage of ore with high iron content near the Ding kilns.

Three pillows carved with this technique, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, have been published: one, decorated with a lotus scroll on the top and inscribed with a cyclical date corresponding to 1168, is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Porcelains of the Song Dynasty (I), Hong Kong, 1996, pl. 89; and two, both incised with a leafy scroll, are included in Selection of Ding Ware. The Palace Museum Collection and Archaeological Excavation, Beijing, 2012, pls. 100 and 101. See also a pillow of this type, excavated at Dingzhou, Hebei province, illustrated in Mu Qing, Ding ci yishu [The art of Ding porcelain], Shijiangzhuang, 2002, pl. 200; one in the National Museum of China, Beijing, included in the exhibition Ding Kiln of China, Beijing Art Museum, Beijing, 2012, pl. 11; another, in the Tianjin Museum, illustrated in Porcelains from the Tianjin Municipal Museum, Beijing, 1993, pl. 29; and a further pillow, from the Meiyintang collection, illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 3 (II), London, 2006, pl. 1538.