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Lot Essay
The unusual shape of this vessel, with its broad sloping mouth rim, was inspired by metalwork prototypes. See, for example, the two Tang dynasty silver zhadou illustrated in Tangdai Jinyin Qi, Beijing, 1985, nos. 255 and 278, the first excavated at Xi'an, and the second with slightly concave mouth rim found in a tomb in Linan Xian Shiu Qiushi, Zhejiang province. It has been suggested that vessels of this shape may have functioned as waste receptacles for wine dregs or tea leaves.
Xing wares from Hebei province were the best quality white-glazed ceramic of the Tang dynasty. The kilns are best known for their tea bowls, dishes and bowl stands, and vessels like the present zhadou are very rare. A similar zhadou with a slightly smaller flared mouth, more compressed body and covered with a white-crackle glaze, dated to Tang dynasty in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Porcelain of the Jin and Tang Dynasties, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1996, no. 144. See, also, another white glazed zhadou with more globular body, illustrated ibid., no. 143. A zhadou of similar shape but covered with a celadon glaze was included in the Nezu Institute of Fine Arts exhibition, Toji hakuji, seiji, sancai (Tang pottery and porcelain), Tokyo, 1988, no. 49.
Xing wares from Hebei province were the best quality white-glazed ceramic of the Tang dynasty. The kilns are best known for their tea bowls, dishes and bowl stands, and vessels like the present zhadou are very rare. A similar zhadou with a slightly smaller flared mouth, more compressed body and covered with a white-crackle glaze, dated to Tang dynasty in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is illustrated in Porcelain of the Jin and Tang Dynasties, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1996, no. 144. See, also, another white glazed zhadou with more globular body, illustrated ibid., no. 143. A zhadou of similar shape but covered with a celadon glaze was included in the Nezu Institute of Fine Arts exhibition, Toji hakuji, seiji, sancai (Tang pottery and porcelain), Tokyo, 1988, no. 49.