A Dingyao moulded 'lotus pond' bowl, Northern Song dynasty | 北宋　定窰印蓮塘鴛鴦紋盌

The tranquil elegance of a lotus pond alive with waterbirds was among the most favoured decorative themes at the Ding kilns of the Song dynasty. The subject was rendered both in impressed and incised techniques, though the former allowed for particularly intricate compositions. The fineness and clarity of the impression were crucial in determining the quality of the finished piece, with the sharpest moulding revealing the artisan’s highest skill.

Compare a closely related bowl decorated with egrets, mandarin ducks and lotus, its form and subject closely akin to the present piece, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, and illustrated in Zhongguo Taoci: Dingyao [Chinese Ceramics: Ding Ware], Shanghai, 1983, no. 127.

荷塘水鳥乃宋代定窰常見裝飾題材，印花、刻花皆有，惟印花構圖更為細密複雜，而模印清晰與否，則決定品質幾何。可比較北京故宮藏一件金代印花鷺鷥鴛鴦蓮花紋盌，盌形與題材與本件頗類，見《中國陶瓷：定窯》，上海，1983年，編號127。