Lot 109. A rare carved Qingbai lobed 'floral' box and cover, Song Dynasty (960-1279); 11.5cm diam. (3). Sold for HK$409,600 (Est: $350 000 HKD - $400 000 HKD) © Bonhams 2001-2023

With deep rounded sides softly divided into six lobes, the box decorated on the lower half of the body with carved flower heads on each facet, the domed cover with a flat top decorated with a band of scrolling foliage in high relief and a centric floral motif at the top, all covered in a thin translucent crackled pale blue glaze with exception of the rims and flat base, revealing the refined white body and the smoked markings left during the firing on the base. 

Provenance: The Ten-Views Lingbi Rock Retreat Collection, coll. no. CY1.

Note: The tall cylindrical lobed shape and deeply carved floral decorations of the present lot is very rare. Qingbai boxes and covers are typically shorter and more shallow, and many decorations were moulded. A Qingbai box and cover in gourd form but with similar elongated proportions is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, illustrated by R.Kerr, Song Dynasty Ceramics, London, 2004, p. 104, no. 106.

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