Lot 1889. A rare 'qingbai' 'Peony' handled cup, Song dynasty (960-1127); 17.8 cm., 7 in. Est. 200,000—300,000 HKD. Lot Sold 250,000 HKD. Photo Sotheby's 2010

of shallow rounded form, applied at one side with a circular loop handle issuing from a flat everted flange, the interior intricately carved with a peony flower borne on leafy stems, covered all over in a delicate shadowy-blue glaze, the unglazed rim revealing the white body burnt russet-orange in the firing.

Provenance: Sotheby's London, 12th Novemeber 2003, lot 74.

Exhibited: Song Ceramics from the Kwan Collection, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1994, cat. no. 111.

Note: It is rare to find a 'qingbai' cup of this form, its shape inspired by metal wares. Cups of this type are however, known, from the 'Yaozhou' kilns, such as the piece illustrated in Zhongguo taoci quanji, vol. 9, Shanghai, 2000, pl. 201, in the Capital Museum, Beijing; and another illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 1, London, 1994, pl. 405, or from the 'Ding' kilns, an example of which is also included in this catalogue.

The dating of this lot is consistent with the results of a thermoluminescence test, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Lab D53, sample 479.

Sotheby's. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS & WORKS OF ART. 08 Apr 10. Hong Kong