A rare 'Qingbai' 'Medallion' vase, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279)
Lot 101. A rare 'Qingbai' 'Medallion' vase, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279). Height 9 5/8 in., 24.5 cm. Estimate 60,000 — 80,000 USD. Lot sold 237,500 USD. Photo Sotheby's.
the high shouldered body surmounted by a low waisted neck with an everted mouthrim, decorated around the body with nine six-lobed medallions enclosing peony flower heads, separated by small foliate scrolls, covered overall with a pale blue glaze pooling darker in the recesses, the base unglazed.
Literature: Chugoku meito ten: Chugoku toji 2000-nen no seika [Exhibition of Chinese Pottery: Two Thousand Years of Chinese Ceramics], Tokyo, 1992, no. 50.
Note: This elegant vase, finely carved and covered overall in a glossy glaze tinged with blue, exemplifies some of the best traits of the finest ceramics made at Jingdezhen during the Song dynasty. Produced at a number of kilns in the provinces of Jiangxi, Fujian and Anhui, qingbai ware, also known as yingqing, refers not to the geographic locations as was typical with other wares, but to its appearance. Qing (green) and bai (white) denote the alluring pale blue-green tones of the brilliant translucent glaze which so effectively complimented the white porcellaneous body beneath.
It is rare to find qingbai vases of this type with this decoration, and no other vase with this exact design appears to have been published. See, however, a related qingbai vase, carved with three six-lobed medallions, from the Gordon Collection sold at Christie's New York, 24th March 2011, lot 1119.
Sotheby's. Song Tradition: Early Ceramics from the Yang De Tang Collection. New York, 17 march 2015, 11:00 AM