Mid Century Japanese Chinese Ceramic Vase Meiping Plum Peony Large Heavy Porcelain Asian

A heavy Cizhou type SGRAFFIATO ( the “scratching” away of a surface to create an image ) vase white ground carved Black/brown Peonies. Original round wood base.

A fine replica of Northern Song Dynasty circa AD 960-1127.

The well balanced ovoid body swelling generously before the short straight neck and flat everted mouth rim, finely carved through the black slip to the white-dressed body with six large peony blooms arrayed in two registers flanked by high feathery leaves borne on a continous stem, all between a collar and skirt of wavy overlapping lappets, the lively details of the flowers with combed and double-teardrop hearts within lobed petals confidently incised out, all beneath a clear glaze revealing the grey body within the coarsely cut foot.
This vase was decorated with complex sgraffiato technique with the designs carved through two different types of slip, one brown, one white to achieve this spectacular contrasting effect.

SOTHEBY’S FINE CHINESE CERAMICS, FURNITURE AND WORKS OF ART NEW YORK SEPTEMBER 17TH 1998 NY7182 202 Rare and important Cizhou sgraffiato meiping 530,500 USD
Sotheby’s Art New York 19 Sep 2001 USD 506,500
Meiping vases are designed to hold a single tall blossoming branch in Spring, hence the narrow neck (to support the branch) and the wide belly (to allow the branch to gracefully lie to one side)

Large and heavy

Approximate Dimensions: 11.5 x 10 x 10 inch