Lot 3220. A finely carved qingbai 'floral' meiping and cover, Southern Song – Yuan dynasty (960-1366), 24.7 cm, 9 3/4  in. Estimate 200,000 — 300,000 HKD. Lot sold 475,000 HKD. Photo: Sotheby's.

well potted with an ovoid body rising from a countersunk base to a broad rounded shoulder and surmounted by a short tapering neck and lipped mouthrim, the body moulded and carved with a dense design of luxuriant lotus blooms borne on undulating stems and wreathed by curling foliage, the cover with straight sides and a pointed top encircled by carved swirls, the exterior covered in a clear subtly pale blue-tinged glaze suffused with a network of crackles.

Provenance: Galaxie Company, Hong Kong, prior to 1990.

Note: Qingbai wares ranged from thin and delicate to more stoutly potted forms such as the present example. Produced at a number of kilns in the provinces of Jiangxi, Fujian and Anhui, qingbai ware, also known as yingqing, refers not to the locales where the kilns were located but to their appearance. Qing (green) and bai (white) denote the alluring pale blue-green tones of the brilliant translucent glaze which so effectively complemented the white porcelaneous body beneath. The Southern Song ceramic historian Jiang Qi notes in his treatise Tao ji [Ceramic Records] that white porcelain produced in Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province was so refined and pure that it was known as raoyu (Jade of Rao), the region in which the Jingdezhen kilns were located. With some kiln modification, it is probable that these wares served as the foundation for the blue-and-white porcelain tradition of China from the 14th century onward. Although the early potters at Jingdezhen may have modelled their earliest qingbai pieces on Yue ware, by the Five Dynasties and Northern Song periods they often looked to Ding ware for aesthetic inspiration. This inspiration is perhaps evident on the present vase with its swift, confident lines of carving.

It is rare to find a meiping of this form complete with its original cover. Another Southern Song to Yuan dynasty qingbai meiping of this form without a cover, carved with foliate scrolls, was sold in our New York rooms, 19th/20th March 2013, lot 31..