SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY (1127-1279)

Details

A JIZHOU 'TORTOISESHELL'-GLAZED BOWL
SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY (1127-1279)
The bowl has conical sides rising from the knife-pared foot to the finger-grooved rim, and is covered inside and out with a dark brown glaze liberally splashed with a translucent yellow-brown glaze in imitation of mottled tortoiseshell, the glaze stopping just short of the foot to expose the light grey stoneware.
4 5/8 in. (11.7 cm.) diam.

Provenance

Spink & Son Ltd., London, before 1990.

Brought to you by

Michael Bass

Check the condition report or get in touch for additional information about this

mbass@Christies.com + 1 212 636 2176

If you wish to view the condition report of this lot, please sign in to your account.

View condition report

Lot Essay

The 'tortoiseshell' glaze was another innovation of the potters at the Jizhou kilns in Jiangxi province during the Song dynasty. Known as 'tortoiseshell' glaze, its name was derived supposedly from its similarity to the shell of a warm-water sea turtle known as the hawksbill. For a discussion of these kilns, and this type of glaze, see R. Mowry, Hare's Fur, Tortoiseshell, and Partridge Feathers, Cambridge, 1996, pp. 225-28. Compare, also, the similar, but larger (16 cm.) bowl, sold in these rooms, 16 September 2010, lot 1309.

More from Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art Part I

View All