the steep rounded sides rising from a short tapered foot to a groove below the lipped rim, the interior freely carved with five cresting waves amid further swirling water, the undulating movement enhanced with crisply combed arced lines, the exterior with an incised triple-line band below the rim, covered overall with a lustrous olive-green glaze, pooling to a dark green in the recesses, a ring to the interior and the foot ring unglazed revealing the pale gray body

The bowl is in overall good condition with only minor expected surface wear and minor firing imperfections. The glaze is slightly dry from burial and subsequent cleaning. The color of the glaze is slightly grayer than in the illustration in the printed catalog.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Bowls of this distinctive form were created to be used as warmers. The depth of the basin and unglazed central ring were specific features designed to accommodate a wine ewer. See a closely related foliate-motif bowl with its ewer in the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (I), Hong Kong, 1996, pl. 102, together with a slightly smaller bowl, pl. 103. Another bowl of this type, in the Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, was included in the exhibition The Masterpieces of Yaozhou Ware, Osaka Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, 1997, cat. no. 96 along with a fragment of a bowl with the same wave pattern as the present example, from the Yaozhou Ware Museum, ibid., cat. no. 169. See also a kiln waster consisting of a similar bowl with remains of a second, smaller bowl inside it, excavated from the kiln site and illustrated in The Yaozhou Kiln Site of the Song Period, Beijing, 1998, col. pl. 3, fig. 2, together with fragmentary bowls of this form with different incised designs, pls 30 and 31.