Dimensions: Height 6,5 cm Wide 10,4 cm Depth 10,4 cm
Weight: 149 grams

The finely potted bowl with rounded sides rising from a short foot, covered overall in a lustrous white glaze with an attractive network of crackles from firing and age. The accompanying saucer of shallow rounded form with everted rim, similarly covered in a white glaze with fine crackle, the unglazed foot showing the buff ware beneath. Both pieces exhibit traces of kiln grit to the footrings.

White wares of this type, often associated with Ding kilns in Hebei, epitomize the elegant restraint of Song dynasty ceramics, where emphasis was placed on form and glaze rather than painted decoration. Their refined simplicity made them highly prized both in China and abroad, influencing later wares in Korea and Japan.

Comparisons:
– A similar white-glazed bowl with fine crackle is in the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing.
– Another comparable bowl and saucer set from the Carl Kempe Collection was sold at Sotheby’s, London.