Lot 243, A 'Yaozhou'  five-legged censer, Five Dynasties-Northern Song Dynasty. Estimate 12,000 — 15,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.

well-potted, of cylindrical form, the steep sides rising to a wide outcurved rim, supported on five well-articulated lion-mask cabriole-form legs terminating in paw feet, covered overall with a gray-green glaze, the interior partially unglazed. Diameter 6 1/2  in., 16.5 cm

Note: For a similar example of a censer see Excavations of the Five Dynasties Period Kiln Site at Huangpu in Tongchuan, Shaanxi, Beijing, 1997, pl. LXIII, nos. 5,6. A related censer with carved decoration, dated to the Song dynasty, is illustrated in The Masterpieces of Yaozhou Ware, The Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, 1997, cat. no. 79.

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