32. M5167

• Purchased from S. Moss, London, April 1962.
• From the collection of Principal Sture Nydell (1891-1986) and his wife, Valborg Nydell (1905-2003).
• A related dish similarly carved is illustrated by Regina Krahl in Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, Volume One, no. 358, p. 204, where the author notes, “For a similar dish from a tomb whose owner died between AD 1153 and AD 1160, see Wenwu, 1988, no. 7, p. 62, fig. 16 (5)”; Krahl also illustrates a similarly carved bowl, no. 361, pp. 204/5.
• A bowl of this design from the collection of The Honourable Mr. Justice Robert Tang Kwok-ching, SBS, The Xiwenguozhai Collection, was included by Marchant in their exhibition of Chinese Ceramics Han to Song, 2018, no. 13, pp. 48/9; another bowl, gift of Dr. and Mrs. Roger G. Gerry, is illustrated by Suzanne G. Valenstein in A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, no. 82, p. 89, where the author notes, “Ding wares were usually fired on their unglazed mouth rims, and the bare rims have often been capped with metal bands. They are thinly crafted porcelains with a fine, hard, and resonant white body, that generally shows a distinctive orange translucency. The mellow, ivory white glaze has an extremely rich quality, and it characteristically exhibits small, light khaki-toned streaks that have been likened to tear marks. Recent laboratory analyses have shown the Ding body seems to have been entirely composed of a kaolinitic clay without the addition of any porcelain stone, which is an important component of most true porcelains. Apparently the glaze, which was fired at a very high temperature, lies outside the traditional system of Chinese high-fired glazed. There is literary evidence that Ding wares were among those ceramics supplied to the Northern Song court”.

One tiny underside rim nibble, one minute rim nick/flake, one tiny natural glazed indentation to the rim, a short fire flaw to the base.