Lot 17. A rare carved Dingyao 'chilong' dish, Song dynasty (960-1279); 14,2 cm. Estimate: 600,000 - 800,000 HKD. Lot sold: 756,000 HKD. Courtesy Sotheby's.
with shallow rounded sides resting on a low short foot, the interior crisply carved with a chilong curled to form a medallion encircled by lotus and peony sprays, the rim bound in metal.
Exhibited: Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, Arizona, on loan, 2007-2008.
Note: This superbly carved Dingyao dish with delicate ivory-coloured glaze is notable for its skilfully carved decoration. The flowing lines successfully capture the spirit and grace of the flowers and dynamism of the chilong, like brush strokes in contemporary ink painting, while accentuating the refined quality of the porcelain body.
See a Dingyao dish similarly carved with a dragon surrounded by flowers from the Qing court collection, included in Decorated Porcelains of Dingzhou. White Ding wares from the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2014, cat. no. II-70. Compare also a slightly larger dish sold at Christie's New York, 18th/19th September 2014, lot 732.
Sotheby's. Monochrome III, Hong Kong, 22 April 2021
