Lot 2080. An unusual large Dingyao box and cover, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127); 6 3/8 in. (16.1 cm.) diam. Estimate USD 7,000 - USD 9,000. Price Realized USD 20,000. © Christie's Images Ltd 2014. 

Both the box, which has a widely flaring lower body and deep straight sides, and the domed cover are cut on one side with knife marks for alignment. They are covered inside and out with a clear glaze that falls in olive-toned tears and ends in a neat line above the flat base exposing the fine white ware. The interior rims are left unglazed, and there are nine spur marks on the base of the interior, Japanese wood box.

Georges DeBatz (1903-1988) Collection, Boston.

Note: Compare three Dingyao boxes of similar shape in the Hebei Provincial Museum, Ding Xian, illustrated in Zhongguo taoci quanji - 9 - Dingyao, Shanghai, 1981, nos. 33, 45, and 46.

Christie's. Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, New York, 20 - 21 March 2014