Lot 507. A small Ding dish, Northern Song-Jin dynasty (960-1234); 7 1/8 in. (18.1 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 6,000 - USD 8,000. Price realised USD 25,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The dish is finely potted with shallow, flaring sides, and is covered overall with a lustrous ivory-tone glaze except for the unglazed, raised outer edge of the flat, everted mouth rim, which reveals the pale buff body, Japanese wood box.

Note: Dishes with flattened rims and a low ridge running around the edge appear in silver from the Tang dynasty, which is when this precious metal began to be used on a more regular basis for fine vessels. Several scholars have noted the closeness of form between silver and Ding white wares, and it has been suggested that the ceramics may have, on occasion, been used to 'fill out' the number of silver vessels in sets. One silver dish of related form, dated to the Song dynasty and decorated with creatures emerging from waves, was excavated in 1983 at Suiningxian, and is illustrated in Zhongguo meishu quanji: gongyi meishu bian 10, Beijing, 1987, no. 105. Compare, also, a gold dish and a silver dish of similar form, both dated to the Song dynasty and decorated with flower sprays, illustrated in Chinesisches Gold und Silber Die Sammlung Pierre Uldry, Zurich, 1994, nos. 272 and 273. 

Two Ding dishes of related form, but somewhat larger than the present dish, are illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 32 - Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (I), Hong Kong, 1996, p. 79, no. 67 (27.4 cm. diam.) and p. 81, no. 72 (30.5 cm. diam.). 

Christie's. The Classic Age of Chinese Ceramics - The Linyushanren Collection, Part III, 22 March 2018, New York