Bonhams. Fine Chinese Art, London, 5 Nov 2020
A rare Dingyao moulded 'Buddhist Lion' dish, Song-Jin dynasty (960-1234)
Lot 16. A rare Dingyao moulded 'Buddhist Lion' dish, Song-Jin dynasty (960-1234); 13.5cm (5 3/8in) diam. Estimate £ 12,000-15,000. Sold for £ 20,062 (€ 22,446). Photo: Bonhams.
Finely potted rising from a recessed flat base to flaring sides, crisply moulded to the interior with a striding Buddhist lion in pursuit of a beribboned brocade ball amidst stylised scrolls, surrounded by a key-fret border, applied overall with an even creamy-white glaze with minor characteristic pooling to the exterior, the rim with a metal band.
Provenance: a distinguished English private collection.
Note: The present Ding dish is noteworthy for the crisp moulded decoration, successfully conveying the design of the playful Buddhist lion and beribboned brocade ball encircled by the key-fret border.
A related Ding saucer dish decorated with a lion chasing a brocaded ball encircled by a key-fret border and dragons, Northern Song/ Jin dynasty, but of larger size, is illustrated by Tsai Meifen in Decorated Porcelains of Dingzhou: White Ding Wares from the Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2014, no.II-118; and another of the same design from the Sir Percival David Collection, in the British Museum, London, is illustrated by M.Medley in Illustrated Catalogue of Ting and Allied Wares, London, 1980, p.21, no.51.
A very similar Ding moulded dish, Jin dynasty, was sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 5 April 2017, lot 3203.
A rare Dingyao moulded 'Buddhist Lion' dish, Jin dynasty (1115-1234), 13.5 cm, 5 3/8 in. Estimate 200,000 — 300,000 HKD. Lot sold 750,000 HKD at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 5 April 2017, lot 3203. Photo: Sotheby's.
Cf. my post: A rare Dingyao moulded 'Buddhist Lion' dish, Jin dynasty (1115-1234)