Lot 201. A Qingbai stem cup and stand, Song dynasty (960-1279); 12 cm, 4 3/4  in. Estimate 4,000 — 6,000 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's.

delicately-potted, the cup with deep rounded sides rising from a short spreading foot, the stand with a stepped, dished rim, centered by a raised tapering platform with galleried rim, all resting on a spreading pedestal foot, covered overall in a pale blue translucent glaze. Quantité: 2

Note: The delicate potting and elegantl design of the present cup and stand were originally inspired by silver and gold prototypes. The porcelain versions were often preferred over the metal ones for tea drinking as the ceramic body retained the heat of the beverage and yet could be held without burning the hand. A similar cup and stand was excavated in 1965 in Nancheng, dated to 1057, and is illustrated in Dated Qingbai Wares of the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Hong Kong, 1998, p. 45, no. 13. Compare also a cup and stand in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London illustrated together with a similar stand in silver illustrated in Song Yun: Sichuan Yao Cang Wenwu Jicui (The Charm of Song: Cultural Artefacts from Hoards in Sichuan), Beijing, 2006, p. 135. 

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, Londres, 10 mai 2017, 02:00 PM