Lot 713. A molded shufu shallow dish, Yuan dynasty (1279-1368); 5 7/8 in. (15 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 10,000 - USD 15,000. Price realised USD 13,750. © Christie's Images Ltd 2018

The dish has shallow, rounded sides raised on a small, slightly flared foot ring, and is molded in low relief in the center of the interior with stylized lotus scroll bearing four blossoms below further lotus scroll incorporating the characters, shu and fu, in the cavetto. The bowl is covered inside and out with a satiny glaze of pale aqua tone, and the base, which is centered by a nipple, is unglazed.

Provenance: J & J Collection (according to label).

Note: The term shufu usually refers to a type of glaze (luanbai) which is more opaque than that of a qingbai glaze and is silky in texture, rather than glassy. The term derives from the characters shu and fu executed in low relief under the glaze found on some wares with this glaze, such as the present dish. It is believed that wares with this mark were intended for use by a Yuan-dynasty government department, the Shumiyuan, which is equated with a Privy Council. A similar dish of slightly larger size (16 cm.) is illustrated by J. Harrison-Hall, Catalogue of Late Yuan and Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, London, 2001, p. 64, no. 1:12.

Dish with moulded design, shufu characters and luanbai glaze, Yuan dynasty (1279-1368); 16 cm. Bequeathed by Sir John M Addis, 1984,0202.19 © 2017 Trustees of the British Museum. 

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, 22 - 23 March 2018, New York