Lot 5026. An exceptionally rare Guanyao barbed pear-shaped vase, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279); 15.6 cm, 6 1/8  in. Estimate 300,000 — 400,000 HKD. Sold for 1,187,500 HKD (140,506 EUR). Courtesy Sotheby's.

the baluster body elegantly rising from a splayed stepped foot to a waisted neck and a gently flared lipped rim, the body divided into six lobes of bracket foliations, covered overall with a greyish blue-green glaze suffused with a dense network of light beige crackles, the unglazed foot rim fired to a reddish-brown colour, Japanese wood box.

Note: This extraordinary vase, modelled with generous proportions marked by well-defined barbed outlines, is an extremely rare embodiment of the ideals of Song (960-1279) court aesthetics in its understated simplicity that veils the depth of expertise and skill required in creating such a vessel. The grey body that has fired a dark purplish brown along the unglazed footring and is vaguely perceptible where the soft crackled grey-green glaze thins is characteristic of Southern Song guanyao ware.