well potted with a wide flat center and shallow rounded sides resting on a broad foot rim of narrow tapered section, covered entirely inside and out with a rich and finely pitted pale blue glaze thinning to a paler brown tone at the rim, and falling evenly just above the foot, with five spur marks on the glazed base.

Note: A dish of the same form and slightly smaller size was discovered in a hoard in Shigu, Henan province, and is illustrated in Zhang Bai (ed.), Zhongguo chutu ciqi quanji, vol. 12, Beijing, 2008, no. 163. A second related example in the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, is illustrated in Porcelain of the National Palace Museum: Chun Ware of the Sung Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1961, pls. 29a and b.

Sotheby's. Informing the Eye of the Collector: Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art from J.T. Tai & Co. 22 Mar 11. New York