Song Dynasty Cizhou Kiln Carved Black Floral-Bird Meiping Vase on White Slip

拍品描述

Dimensions：Overall height 32.5 cm (12.8 in), mouth diameter 6.8 cm (2.7 in), Song Dynasty (10th–13th Century CE)Condition & Provenance：The vase is fully intact with no penetrating cracks or major restorations. Tiny natural brown age specks scatter across the white slip glaze. Only faint antique wear marks exist on the rim without chips or breaks. The carved black glaze patterns on shoulder and lower body remain crisp and complete. The front bird-and-leaf motif is perfectly preserved, with genuine ancient soil patina on the unglazed base, which bears an old international antique dealer collection sticker. As a pre-Ming ancient Chinese porcelain piece, this vessel originally circulated out of Hong Kong decades ago and was held long-term in a private collection of early Chinese ceramics in Hong Kong. It comes with vintage Hong Kong antique gallery transaction files and professional ceramic authentication documents, with no modern touch-ups, repainting or alteration.Description：This carved slip-decorated Cizhou meiping ranks as a top-tier representative artwork from northern Chinese folk kilns of the Song era. It follows the classic meiping silhouette: small flared mouth, short neck, full rounded shoulder, plump mid-body and tapered lower abdomen, shaped with smooth, balanced elegant contours. The entire vessel is covered in creamy white slip glaze. A band of radiating carved black glaze lines wraps around the shoulder below the neck, while vertical carved black slip stripes encircle the lower body near the foot, creating a bold stark black-and-white contrast with layered decorative rhythm. The main front surface features a hand-carved painted scene of a bird perched on autumn branches. Twisting natural branches stretch across the glaze, each leaf etched with fine precise vein lines for realistic detail. A single songbird rests calmly on the bough, its crest, layered wing feathers and long tail sharply defined with confident carving lines, conveying a serene peaceful mood. The composition balances dense foliage and blank white slip masterfully, blending rustic folk charm with the refined subtle aesthetic favored by Song literati. Cizhou kilns pioneered this carved black slip technique: potters coated stoneware with white slip, covered the surface with black slip, then carved away the top black layer to expose the white base and form crisp decorative imagery, a complex multi-step craft requiring exceptional skill. The glaze carries a soft mellow luster built over centuries of natural age, with dry coarse unglazed base clay marked by authentic buried soil patina. This is a well-preserved museum-quality Song Cizhou display vessel with remarkable surviving condition. As the benchmark of northern folk ceramic art, Song Cizhou wares are highly sought-after by global collectors of early Chinese porcelain. This bird-and-flower meiping features intact vivid decoration, perfectly proportioned classic form and authentic Song manufacturing characteristics, delivering tremendous academic research value alongside standout decorative display appeal, making it a scarce and desirable collectible for serious ancient ceramic enthusiasts.

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