A rare and large ‘Xing' white-glazed ewer, Tang dynasty

Sotheby's New York, 18th September 2007, lot 213.

The present ewer represents one of the most important and striking forms in the canon of early ceramics. Its bulbous form narrowing to a graceful neck which splays into a delicate spout, the present ewer form appears to have first developed in the late Sui dynasty in conversation with gold and silver wares imported from the thriving Sasanian Empire from the late sixth century. Compare, for example, a silver ewer uncovered from a Tang tomb in Ju Ud Meng, Inner Mongolia, included in the exhibition Chugoku Uchi Moko, hoppo kiba minzoku bunbutsu ten [Exhibition of cultural relics of the northern nomads], Tokyo, 1983, cat. no. 69; and a parcel-gilt silver ewer in the Cincinnati Art Museum included in Margaret Medley, Metalwork and Chinese Ceramics, London, 1972, pl. 1a, in which the author traces the development of the present form. As Medley notes, Tang dynasty ewers initially conformed closely to their Persian prototypes with liberal use of molded decoration and zoomorphic features. However, by the end of the eighth century, this direct imitation appears to have largely given way to simpler, more graceful forms, typical of what may now be considered the true refined Tang style.

While the influence of Persian design is undeniable, the present ewer also possesses an ineffable universality in its graceful form and bold minimalism. Its elegant spout, rendered with two simple pinches in the once soft clay by an ancient craftsman, lends the piece a sense of vitality still striking more than a millennium later. Similarly, while understated on first glance, the brilliant white glaze of the present ewer lends it an extraordinary presence. Although more liberally decorated examples of related forms are more commonly found glazed in the sancai (‘three color’) palette, the present ewer belongs to a far more elusive group produced in the proto-porcelaineous glazes of Hebei province. Soft to the touch yet extraordinarily pure and bright in color, the so-called ‘Northern White Wares’ mark a stark departure from the more florid designs of their contemporaries, paving the way for the minimalist and considered aesthetics of the ascendant Song court and its beloved Ding kilns.

Surviving ewers of this regal design are exceedingly rare. Compare a closely related ewer of similar size (41.2 cm) and design preserved in the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, illustrated in Toyo no shiroi ya kimono—jun’naru Sekai [White ceramics of the east: the genuine pure world], Tokyo, 2012, pl. 16 (Fig. 1); and two closely related ewers preserved in regional institutions in China, uncovered from Hebei province sites and illustrated in Dingci yishu [The art of Ding porcelain], Shijiazhuang, 2002: one of closely related form now lacking its handle, excavated from a Ding kiln site in Quyang county in 1974, pl. 63; and another with a short pedestal foot, uncovered in 1978 from the Xing kilns of Zhongyangquan village, Lincheng county, pl. 62. Also compare another closely related ‘Xing’ ewer with a pedestal-shaped foot, sold twice in our London rooms and more recently at Christie’s New York, 21st March 2014, lot 2075; two related miniature examples uncovered in recent excavations in Hebei, illustrated in Zhongguo Dingyao / Ding Kiln of China, Beijing Art Museum, Beijing, 2012, cat. nos 37 and 38; and another miniature example from the collection of J.M. Hu, sold at Christie’s New York, 25th March 2022, lot 1026.

The dating of this lot is consistent with the results of Oxford Authentication Ltd. thermoluminescence test no. P106n79.

本拍品經牛津熱釋光檢測編號P106n79，結果與其斷代相符。