Lot 254, A rare 'marbled' 'lotus-bud' form waterpot, Northern Song Dynasty. Estimate 60,000 — 80,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's

well potted from marbled brown-and-white clays, with deep sides rising from a flat foot and countersunk base to an inverted rim, with a broad plain white band at the rim. Diameter 3 7/8  in., 9.8 cm

Notes: The present vessel belongs to small group of wares produced by a number of northern kilns in Henan province, including the Kuangshan kilns of Jiaozuo and the Dangyangyu kilns of Xiuwu, in the 10th and 11th centuries. The brown and white clays were mixed together in the form of braids before being pressed over a mold. 

Compare a marbled cup of this form published in Illustrated Catalogues of Tokyo National Museum, Chinese Ceramics I, Tokyo, 1988, cat. no. 579, together with a cup stand. A similar water pot was also sold in our London rooms, 7th November 2007, lot 269. 

Sotheby's, Important Chinese Art, New York, 16 mars 2016, 10:00 AM