Bowl with five-lobed rim, North China, Liao dynasty, about AD 1000-1100

Potters modelled this dish on a silver ware form. Ding wares seldom bear inscriptions except for some high-quality vessels marked 官(guan, ‘official’) or as here 新官 (xinguan, ‘new official’). The characters were incised before firing which precludes the possibility of it being a later inscription.