Lot Essay
Compare with two related purple-splashed examples of this barbed rim shape, both incised with the numeral 'ten' on the base; the first in the Qing Court collection, Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (1), The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1996, nos. 29 and 32; and the other is in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics, The World's Great Collections, vol. 10, 1980, no. 212.
Research has suggested that the numbers incised on the bases of junyao vessels, clearly relate to the size of the vessel and may also indicate which rooms they were kept in at the imperial palace. As a rule, the larger the numeral on these 'numbered' jun wares, the smaller the size of the vessel.
Research has suggested that the numbers incised on the bases of junyao vessels, clearly relate to the size of the vessel and may also indicate which rooms they were kept in at the imperial palace. As a rule, the larger the numeral on these 'numbered' jun wares, the smaller the size of the vessel.