Lot 312. A Geyao mallow-shaped brush washer, Ming dynasty or earlier; 10.2 cm, 4 in. Estimate 80,000 - 120,000 HKD. Lot sold 3,720,000 HKD (418,045 EUR). © Sotheby's.

the gently flaring sides supported on a countersunk base with five spur marks, covered overall in a soft greyish glaze suffused with a matrix of iron-wire crackles.

Provenance: Collection of T.Y. Chao (1912-1999).

Note: Compare the mallow-shaped Geyao washers dated to the Song dynasty are preserved in the Beijing Palace Museum, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (II), Hong Kong, 1996, pls 56-57, 59-61.