Lot 601. A rare 'Yue' celadon glazed octagonal vase and cover, Song dynasty. Estimate 40,000 — 60,000 HKD (4,578 - 6,867 EUR). Photo: Sotheby's.

finely potted with incurved facetted sides divided by raised ribs and set with two short lugs to the shoulder, the slender body rising to a short octagonal neck, the domed cover of conforming section, surrounded by an upturned rim and surmounted by a bud finial, applied overall with a sage-green glaze; 19 cm, 7 1/2  in.

Note: A related vase of this rare and charming form, in the Zhenjiang Museum, Zhenjiang, is illustrated in the Complete Collection of Chinese Ceramics. Song, vol. 8, Shanghai, 1999, pl. 52. Vases of related octagonal shape were produced at the Ding kilns, in Hebei province, and the qingbai kilns in Jiangxi province; see a Ding vase in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Selection of Ding Ware. The Palace Museum’s Collection and Archaeological Excavation, Beijing, 2002, pl. 37; and a qingbai example, from the Meiyintang collection, illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 3 (II), London, 2006, pl. 1590; and another carved with a floral scroll, included in the exhibition Song Ceramics from the Kwan Collection, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1994, cat. no. 105.