Ru guanyao court ware was made in China’s late Northern Song dynasty (960-1127) and production continued for only a short period. It is now rare and the bowl is one of only four known heirloom Ru wares known to remain in private hands. It was part of the Le Cong Tang collection and was formerly in the Chang Foundation in the Hongxi Museum, Taipei.
The 5in (13cm) diameter dish features a blue-green glaze and an ice-crackle pattern with three fine sesame seed spur marks. It is from the Ru kiln, widely considered the best of the Five Great Kilns.
It is estimated to reach in excess of HK$100m on October 3.
Many Song dynasty pieces were bought by Japanese collectors a generation ago but prices have lagged behind those of Qing dynasty pieces in recent years.
Sotheby’s Asia deputy chairman Nicolas Chow described the bowl as “ravishing” and “the most celebrated and forged ceramic type throughout Chinese history”.
Another featured lot from the Le Cong Tang collection is a rare ding-lobed brown-splashed black-glazed dish. Also from the Five Great Kilns, this Ding dish is estimated at HK$6m.
