Lot 46. An unusual painted 'Jizhou' lampstand, Song Dynasty (960-1279). Estimate 6,000 — 8,000 USD. Lot sold 7,200 USD. © Sotheby's.

The small cupped mouth supported on a slender tubular stem and a wide rim attached to a tall bell-shaped foot, the body painted in brown slip over a white slip with peonies on a dense foliate ground encircling the foot, detached floral sprays on the stem and rim, and horizontal stripes around the cup and stem; 9 1/4 in., 23.5 cm.

Note: This Jizhou lampstand is extremely rare for its shape and painted decoration. In its painted design it appears to be copying northern Cizhou designs, such as that found on a Cizhou meiping, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Zhongguo taoci quanji, vol. 7, Shanghai, 2000, pl. 181. Compare a painted flower motif on a shard found at the Jizhou kiln site included in Kiln Sites of Ancient China, Oriental Ceramic Society, London, 1980, p. 142, fig. 258.  For examples of more familiar painted designs on Jizhou wares see Cecilia Y. Locsin, A Group of Painted Wares from Chi-Chou and Some Related Wares Excavated in the Philippines, Manila.  

Sotheby's. Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art, New York, 31 mars 2005