Lot 242. A Carved 'Ding' 'Lotus' Bowl, Northern Song Dynasty. Estimate 40,000 — 60,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's

finely potted with gently rounded sides rising from a short foot to a hexalobed rim, the interior deftly and freely carved with a single lotus flower with curling leaves, applied overall with an even ivory-colored glaze pooling in characteristic tear-drops on the plain exterior, the rim unglazed. Diameter 8 1/2  in., 21.6 cm

Notes: This bowl is representative of a classic 'Ding' design of the Northern Song dynasty. The restrained yet flowing lines of the decoration successfully capture the spirit and grace of the lotus flower while accentuating the refined quality of the porcelain body. Symbolic of purity and integrity because it rises clean out of muddy water, the lotus was a popular motif throughout the Song dynasty and frequently featured on white-glazed 'Ding' ware.

A related bowl of larger dimensions and with a copper-bound rim, from the Carl Kempe collection, illustrated in Jan Wirgin, Sung Ceramic Designs, Stockholm, 1970, pl. 63a, was sold in our London rooms, 14th May 2008, lot 252. Slightly smaller bowls of this type include one from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing, published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (I), Hong Kong, 1996, pl. 52; one included in Decorated Porcelains of Dingzhou: White Ding wares from the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2014, pl. 42; another, from the Jingguantang collection included in the exhibition Gems of Chinese Art. Selections of Ceramics and Bronzes from the Tsui Art Foundation, The Empress Palace Museum, Singapore, 1992, cat. no. 46, was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 3rd November 1996, lot 535, and again at Christie's New York, 18th September 1997, lot 144; and a fourth bowl was sold in our London rooms, 16th May 2012, lot 88.

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