Song Dynasty Cizhou Kiln White Slip Iron-Brown & Ink Lotus Pattern Conical Bowls, Pair

拍品描述

Dimensions：Larger bowl mouth diameter 15.2 cm (6.0 in), height 6.2 cm (2.4 in); Smaller bowl mouth diameter 11.5 cm (4.5 in), height 5.5 cm (2.2 in), 10th–13th Century CECondition & Provenance：This matched pair of conical bowls is fully intact with no cracks, chips, glaze loss or restorations. The iron-brown lotus motif inside the large bowl remains crisp, and its brown rim band is undamaged. The smaller bowl’s grey-blue ink lotus and leaf decoration is well-preserved with intact grey rim lines. Swirling scroll patterns on exteriors stay clear, only marked by mild natural soil patina and gentle wear from centuries of use. Unglazed base feet carry authentic aged clay stains and patina without modern polishing or repainting. The collection was originally owned by a Hong Kong specialist collector focusing on pre-Yuan porcelain, then purchased by a private antique ceramic collector based in Dallas, Texas, USA in 2025, with full provenance paperwork and official appraisal certification attached.Description：This matched set of two sized conical bowls stands as a prime example of painted slip wares from northern China’s Song-era Cizhou folk kilns, capturing the laid-back, expressive folk aesthetic of Song civilian culture. Both vessels feature the iconic conical silhouette: wide flared mouth, sloping shallow walls tapering down to compact solid ring feet. The two sizes create a balanced display set with contrasting height and width. The larger bowl is decorated with iron-brown mineral pigment; its interior is fully painted with a lotus pond scene filled with large lotus leaves, seed pods and winding aquatic vines, framed by a continuous scroll border along the rim. Its outer surface is covered in free-flowing brown spiral cloud scrollwork. The smaller bowl uses muted grey-blue ink pigment, centered on a single lotus bloom paired with leaves and water weeds, accented by two thin grey slip lines around the rim, with matching spiral exterior patterns that visually coordinate with the larger bowl. Each piece is coated with creamy white slip as a base layer, then hand-painted directly with mineral colorants without carving or incising. The unrestrained brushwork rejects rigid formalized design, embodying the unpretentious creativity of ancient village craftsmen. The body is formed from coarse northern pottery clay, with unglazed base feet showing dry porous clay naturally stained with yellow-brown burial patina. The matte soft glaze bears fine natural age crazing from hundreds of years of storage. Matched size pairs of painted Cizhou conical bowls are extremely scarce on the international antique market. This pair features unified lotus-themed decoration with distinct color palettes, handed down as an original matching set. They perfectly document the full production system of northern Song folk tableware, including slip painting pigments, auspicious lotus symbolism and civilian ceramic shapes. Regarded as benchmark reference artifacts for academic research, they are highly sought-after among antique porcelain collectors across North America, boasting outstanding historical research value and reliable long-term investment appreciation potential.

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