Lot Essay
The unusual decoration of the applied 'tied bows' found on this ewer is similar to that seen on a Northern Song qingbai ewer on which the applied decoration forms four connected loops below the base of the spout, which is illustrated in Porcelain Collected by Anhui Province Museum, Beijing, 2002, p. 61, pl. 46, where the decoration is described as 'butterfly design'. As with the present ewer, two small loops have been applied to the shoulder between the spout and the handle.