Lot 103. An exquisite and rare Xingyao white-glazed zhadou, Tang Dynasty (618-907); 11cm high (2). Sold for HK$256,000 (Est: $150 000 HKD - $200 000 HKD) © Bonhams 2001-2023

Thinly potted with a slightly compressed globular body supported on a short base, extending to a wide flared conical rim, applied overall in an attractive white glaze, the flat base left unglazed revealing the fine white body, box.

Provenance: An important Taiwanese private collection.

Note: The present lot is particularly striking in its lustrous white glaze, superb and elegant potting as well as its well-balanced proportion of the vessel, demonstrating the high level of quality already achieved by craftsmen as early as the Tang dynasty.

Wares of this form were inspired by metalworks of the Tang dynasty and functioned as spittoons in the early days. Smaller ones were also used to contain tea leaves as one of the tea instruments. Xingyao wares from Hebei province were amongst the finest ceramic wares during the Tang and Five Dynasties period. The kilns were best known for their pure white body and highly glossy glaze, and renowned for their production of tea bowls and bowl stands. Xingyao stonewares of this type are particularly rare.

See a similar Tang dynasty zhadou in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Porcelain of the Jin and Tang Dynasties. The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1996, cat. no. 144. Compare also a related Tang dynasty white-glazed zhadou in Shanxi Provincial Museum, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Ceramic Art Unearthed in China, vol. 5, Beijing, 2008, p. 45, pl. 45.

Bonhams. SUBTLE BEAUTY THE AESTHETICS OF SONG DYNASTY, 29 November 2023, Hong Kong, Admiralty