A large 'Cizhou' white-glazed vase, Liao dynasty

Sotheby's New York, 21st September 2006, lot 286.

The present lot exemplifies the refined artistry mastered by the potters of the Cizhou kilns. While often celebrated for boldly painted and incised wares, the kilns also produced refined monochrome vessels, including elegant white-glazed examples that reveal a quieter but equally accomplished aesthetic. The present lot belongs to this latter tradition, in which form and proportion take precedence, allowing the potter’s skill to be expressed through silhouette and glaze alone.

Finely potted, the graceful lines of this sumptuous attenuated form are accentuated by a luminous, transparent glaze, gliding evenly across the surface. The elegantly sinuous baluster body rises to a slender, elongated neck, surmounted by a flaring cupped mouth with a galleried rim. For a closely related example of similar form, but of a slightly smaller size (40cm), see one sold at Christie's New York, 23rd March 2023, lot 834. For an example of similar form and size but decorated with a large peony scroll on meandering stems to the body, see one previously in the Bai Ma Xuan Collection and sold in these rooms, 23rd September 2020, lot 716.