Lot 47. A molded 'Ding' bowl, Northern Song dynasty. Diameter 7 in., 17.8 cm. Estimate 10,000 — 15,000 USD. Lot sold 40,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.

rising from a short foot, the rounded bowl molded on the interior with a pair of fish in the central medallion amid rolling waves, surrounded by a pair of phoenix among scrolling chrysanthemum flower heads on the well, all below a key-fret border, covered in an even pale ivory glaze pooling in characteristic teardrops down the plain exterior, the rim bound in a metal mount. 

Provenance: Acquired in Hong Kong, November 1986. 

Sotheby's. Monochrome, New York, 15 sept. 2015