Footnotes

北宋早期 定窯白釉刻牡丹紋罐
「官」款

Provenance:
Priestley & Ferraro Chinese Art, London
Emmanuel Christofides (1928-2020), Athens and London, acquired from the above on 13 November 2001

Published, Illustrated and Exhibited:
Priestley & Ferraro Chinese Art, Kilns & Conquerors. Chinese Ceramics from the 10th to the 14th Century, London, 2001, no.3
D.Priestley and M.Flacks, A Life in the Company of Song Ceramics, London, 2017, pp.114-115, no.51 (published and illustrated)

來源：
倫敦古董商Priestley & Ferraro Chinese Art
Emmanuel Christofides (1928-2020)，雅典和倫敦，於2001年11月13日從上處獲得

展覽著錄：
Priestley & Ferraro Chinese Art，《Kilns & Conquerors. Chinese Ceramics from the 10th to the 14th Century》，倫敦，2001年，編號3
D.Priestley和M.Flacks，《A Life in the Company of Song Ceramics》，倫敦，2017年，第114-115頁，編號51（著錄插圖）

This extraordinary jar is extremely rare, for its rare form and striking deep-relief carving. It was created in a time when Ding kiln artisans were pushing the boundaries of traditional ceramics. Moving away from the plain white-glazed vessels popular since the Tang dynasty, potters began creating more elaborate shapes and intricate decorations to meet the evolving tastes of their clientele. The most renowned example of carved Dingyao is the dragon-spouted kundika from the Jinzhongyuan Temple Pagoda, unearthed in 1969, illustrated by M.Medley, The Chinese Potter, Oxford, 1976, p.107, fig.71.

The Song Court was one of the Ding kilns' most prestigious patrons, and the large, hastily inscribed guan (官 'official') mark on the base of this jar suggests it was crafted for Imperial use. Inspired by the deep-relief carving techniques already employed on Yaozhou and Cizhou wares, the Ding potters embraced this style, adapting it to their own aesthetic. The jar's near-cylindrical shape was likely chosen to emphasise the bold peony blossoms and flowing foliage carved into its surface.

The earlier excavation of the Jingzhi Temple Pagoda also yielded a range of early Dingyao wares, including several marked on the base with the character 'guan'. These early Ding wares from Jingzhi share several technical features with the present jar. These include a precisely carved groove at the shoulder, defining the transition between planes — similar to the kundika illustrated in Treasures from the Underground Palaces, Tokyo, 1997, no.57; and the pooling of glaze that oxidizes to a yellowish tone, as seen on the box, illustrated in Ibid.,no.66.

See a related celadon glazed jar carved with floral designs, Northern Song dynasty, in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, illustrated by S.G. Valenstein, A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1989, p.85, fig.75.