Lot 66. A 'Ding' box and cover, Song dynasty (960-1279). Diameter 3 in., 7.6 cm. Estimate 20,000 — 30,000 USD. Lot sold 40,000 USD. Photo Sotheby's.

of circular form, with straight sides and a slightly domed cover, supported on a recessed foot, applied overall with a smooth ivory-tinged glaze stopping neatly above the foot (2). 

Note: This elegant box and cover is applied with a glaze of particularly smooth and glossy texture. See a closely related box and cover, of smaller size, illustrated in Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, vol. 3, pt. II, 2006, no. 1433 where the author cites a similarly shaped box found among a group of Ding wares in a tomb in Haidan, Beijing municipality, attributed to the period between 1125 and 1160.  See another related Ding box and cover illustrated in Michael Sullivan, Chinese Ceramics, Bronzes and Jades in the Collection of Sir Alan and Lady Barlow, London, 1963, pl. 44a; and another formerly in the collection of Mrs. Alfred Clark illustrated in Basil Gray, Early Chinese Pottery and Porcelain, London, 1952, pl. 36a and subsequently sold in these rooms 25th March 1975, lot 27.

Sotheby's. Song Tradition: Early Ceramics from the Yang De Tang Collection. New York, 17 march 2015, 11:00 AM