skilfully and sturdily potted with tapering sides rising to a flat border encircling a circular bowl-shaped cavity, each sloping side fashioned with a cusped opening revealing a seated Buddhist figure with rudimentary outlines on the interior simulating a niche, covered overall save for the unglazed base with a pale milky-blue glaze draining to a light mushroom tone at the edges and extremities, the unglazed base centred with a circular opening and burnt orange-brown in the firing

Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, New York, 1999.

The Grandeur of Chinese Art Treasures: Min Chiu Society Golden Jubilee Exhibition, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 2010-11, cat. no. 106.

The bottom section of this rare altar vessel had been broken into three parts with the original pieces restuck. Associated cracks with overpainting are visible, five of the Buddhist figures and the edge of one cusped opening (1.3 cm) have been sympathetically restored which would benefit from professional improvement. There is a 3-branch stained hairline running horizontally (8 cm) on the upper side of the vessel, and another faint hairline (3 cm) running from the base up the body. The top of the vessel with some minor glaze flakes (largest 0.3 by 0.4 cm) near the rim. There is general glaze wear/loss to the concave centre, probably from use.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Vessels of this type are extremely rare and only one other related example covered in a Junyao glaze appears to have been published, from the Sir Percival David Collection, now in the British Museum, London. It is illustrated in S. Yorke Hardy, Illustrated Catalogue of Tung, Ju, Kuan, Chün, Kuang-tung & Glazed I-hsing Wares, London, 1953, pl. A51, where the author mentions another similar example from the Grandidier Collection in the Musée Guimet, Paris.

In its form and decoration this vessel is a curious mixture of influences: while its general form appears to derive from ceramic inkstones made from🔯 as early as the Tang dynasty🌠, the shaped apertures that reveal eight Buddhist figures, are reminiscent of the niches seen in Buddhist pagodas. The Buddhist character of this piece suggests that it was probably used in a Buddhist context.

Vessels of this form were made as early as the Song dynasty at the Yaozhou kilns in Shaanxi province, such as a piece attributed to the Song period, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (I), Hong Kong, 1996, pl. 96; and another recovered from the Yaozhou kiln complex Huangbaozhen, Tongchuan county, illustrated in Yaozhou yao/ Yaozhou Kiln, Xi’an, 1992, p. 60 bottom.