Lot 2836. A carved Ding lotus-form bowl and cover, Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127); 3 1⁄8 in. (8.1 cm.) diam., box. Price realised HKD 150,000 (Estimate HKD 120,000 - HKD 180,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2021.

The domed cover with a broad rim is moulded as a lotus leaf surmounted by a stalk-form finial. The bowl is carved with vertical ribs simulating petals. Both the cover and bowl are applied to the exterior with a transparent glaze of ivory tone.

Provenance: An old Hong Kong family collection.

Exhibited: University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong, The Multiplicity of Simplicity - Monochrome wares from the Song to the Yuan dynasties, 2012, no. 29.

Note: Two Ding bowls and covers of this form are illustrated by Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994, Vol. 1, nos. 350 and 351. Another comparable example is a Ding censer which is also carved to the exterior with vertical lines and illustrated in Beauty & Entirety - Ceramics of the Song Dynasty from The Palace Museum, Museum of Art in Macau, 2012, plate no. 43.

Lot 2837. A Ding 'lotus pond' pillow, Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127); 10 3⁄4 in. (27.5 cm.) long, box. Price realised HKD 350,000 (Estimate HKD 150,000 - HKD 250,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2021.

The top is fluidly carved with lotus blossoms and leaves, all reserved against a combed wave ground within a double-line border. The sides are decorated with overlapping waves partially filled with a combed motif. It is covered with a creamy glaze of slightly yellowish tone.

Exhibited: University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong, The Multiplicity of Simplicity - Monochrome wares from the Song to the Yuan dynasties, 2012, no. 34.

Note: A Ding pillow of similar form with incised decoration is illustrated in Beauty & Entirety - Ceramics of the Song Dynasty from The Palace Museum, Museum of Art in Macau, 2012, plate no. 48.

Lot 2838. A very rare Ding vase, Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127); 5 1⁄4 in. (13 cm.) high, box. Price realised HKD 300,000 (Estimate HKD 240,000 - HKD 300,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2021.

The vase is potted with a slightly compressed globular body between a pair of raised flanges rising from a recessed foot to a ribbed mouth. It is covered overall with a clear ivory-white glaze of even tone, with the exception of the unglazed foot exposing the white biscuit body.

Provenance: An important Hong Kong family collection, acquired in the 1970s.

Note: A Guan flower vase dated to the Southern Song dynasty of similar form, also decorated with raised flanges around the body is illustrated in Precious as the Morning Star: 12th-14th Century Celadons in the Qing Court Collection, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2016, p. 162. A Yaozhou flower vase of similar rounded form is illustrated in Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, Yoshuyo/The Masterpieces of Yaozhou Ware, Osaka, 1997, p. 57.

Lot 2839. A fine and rare Ding moulded 'peony' foliate-rim bowl, Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127); 7 1⁄2 in. (19 cm.) diam., box. Price realised HKD 2,375,000 (Estimate HKD 700,000 - HKD 900,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2021.

The mouth rim is gently indented to form six lobes. The interior is moulded in the centre with a peony surrounded by a further four peony blossoms borne on entwining scrolls decorated on the cavetto. The bowl is covered overall in a glaze of creamy ivory tone, the rim is bound in metal.

Exhibited: University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong, The Multiplicity of Simplicity - Monochrome wares from the Song to the Yuan dynasties, 2012, no. 28.

Note: Compare to another Ding bowl moulded with this decoration, possibly from the same mould, on display at the Guimet Museum, no. MA4163.

Lot 2840. A fine and rare large Ding incised 'peony' lobed bowl, Northern Song-Jin Dynasty (960-1234); 9 3⁄4 in. (25 cm.) diam., Japanese wood box. Price realised HKD 1,250,000 (Estimate HKD 1,200,000- HKD 1,800,000). © Christie's Images Ltd 2021.

The interior is freely incised with a peony blossom borne on leafy stems, and the bowl is covered inside and out with a smooth white glaze. The mouth rim is mounted with a metal band.

Provenance: An important Hong Kong family collection.

Exhibited: University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong, The Multiplicity of Simplicity - Monochrome wares from the Song to the Yuan dynasties, 2012, no. 25.

Note: A Ding bowl of similar form and incised decoration is in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, and illustrated by Tsai Meifen, Decorated Porcelains of Dingzhou: White Ding Wares from the Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2014, p. 75. Another closely related dish with similar carved peony decoration is in the Grandidier Collection in the Musée Guimet, Paris illustrated in Oriental Ceramics, The World's Great Collections, Vol. 7 - Musée Guimet, Paris, 1981, no. 28.

Christie's. The Songde Tang Collection - Song Dynasty Ceramics, Hong Kong, 3 december 2021