Lot 57. A white stoneware flask, Liao dynasty, 10th century. Height 10 7/8  in., 27.5 cm. Estimate 20,000 — 30,000 USD. Lot sold 47,500 HKD. Photo Sotheby's.

after a leather prototype, the lower bulbous section rising from a flattened base to a tapered top, the upper part terminating in a flat bracket-lobed flange and an upright circular spout with everted lip, the flange pierced with a hole, covered overall with white slip and a transparent ivory-tinged glaze stopping short of the base to reveal the white body. 

Note: This flask is rather unusual, as flasks of this type usually have a more rounded and narrow lower section, but the present vase has a much more angular shape, with a flatter base. A flask of almost identical form but slightly smaller size, from the Idemitsu Museum of Art, Tokyo, was sold in our London rooms, 11th May 2011, lot 8.  

Sotheby's. Song Tradition: Early Ceramics from the Yang De Tang Collection. New York, 17 mars 2015, 11:00 AM