Lot 203. A carved Qingbai 'Floral' meiping, Song dynasty (960-1279); 29 cm, 11 7/16  in. Estimate 30,000 — 40,000 GBP. Photo: Sotheby's.

well potted with an elongated ovoid body rising to a broad rounded shoulder and surmounted by a sloping neck set with a cupped mouth, the body moulded and carved with a dense design of luxuriant floral blooms borne on scrolling stems, covered overall in a translucent pale blue glaze pooling to darker tones within the carved recesses, falling short of the unglazed foot revealing the off-white coloured biscuit.

Note: A closely related meiping, in the Idemitsu Museum of Art, Tokyo, is illustrated in Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1987, pl. 423; another was sold in our New York rooms, 3rd June 1992, lot 205; a slightly smaller example in the British Museum, London, is illustrated in Jan Wirgin, Sung Ceramic Design, Stockholm, 1970, pl. 22e; and another with its matching cover is published in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 1, London, 1994, pl. 606. See also a larger example in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures in the Palace Museum. Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (III), Hong Kong, 1996, pl. 167. 

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