A Cizhou sgraffiato vase, yuhuchunpin, Northern Song-Jin dynasty (960-1234). Estimate HK$400,000 – HK$600,000 ($51,863 - $77,795). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The vase is freely carved through the white slip to the buff body with two wide bands enclosing peony motifs, below a narrow register of leaves around the shoulder, covered with a clear glaze stopping in an irregular line above the foot. 11 3/8 in. (29 cm.) high, box

Provenance: From the Collection of Alexander J. Argyropoulos, Athens,Ambassador to China from Greece in the late 1940s, acquired before 1950

Literature: J. J. Lally and Co., Chinese Ceramics in Black and White, New York, 2010, no. 33

CHRISTIE'S. THE PAVILION SALE - CHINESE CERAMICS & WORKS OF ART, 6 October 2015, 22nd Floor