CHINE, DYNASTIE SONG DU NORD, XEME-XIEME SIECLE

The Ding kilns, famous for their thin-bodied, ivory-colored wares, created the finest porcelaneous stoneware in north China during the Song period. The kilns supplied substantial quantities of wares for use at the Northern Song imperial court, which is evidenced by the recovery of thirty-seven pieces of Ding ware, all banded with gold and silver, from the tomb of Emperor Taizong's empress (d. 1000). See Ts'ai Mei-fen, "A Discussion on Ting Ware with Unglazed Rims and Related Twelfth-century Porcelain," Art of the Sung and Yüan, New York, 1996, p. 111.