Lot 240. A Small 'Xing' White-Glazed Ewer, Five Dynasties-Northern Song Dynasty, 10th Century. Estimate 25,000 — 35,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's

of spherical form rising from a shallow straight foot, one side with short spout set opposite an arching strap handle cut with double grooves, covered inside and out with a clear glaze pooling to creamy-yellowish tone, stopping unevenly above the foot to reveal the white porcelaneous body. Height 4 1/2  in., 11.4 cm

Provenance: J.J. Lally & Co., New York.

Notes: Compare two similar spherical ewers attributed to the 'Xing' kilns in Hebei province, one illustrated in Regina Krahl,Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. III (2), London, 2006, pl. 1421; and the another formerly in the Kempe collection, illustrated in Bo Gyllensvärd, Chinese Ceramics in the Carl Kempe Collection, Stockholm, 1964, pl. 292. 

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 16 Mar 2016, 10:00 AM