SONG-JIN DYNASTY, 12TH-13TH CENTURY

The glaze on this bowl is exceptionally fine. The color is a clear sky blue, while the texture of the glaze has been well controlled to produce a cloudy opalescence. Control of both temperature and duration of firing was crucial to both the color and texture of Jun glazes, and had to be finely judged by the kiln master.

A Junyao bowl of similar size and also with deep, rounded sides is illustrated in Song Ceramics from the Kwan Collection, Hong Kong, 22 July - 11 September 1994, no. 141. Another bowl of similar size and covered with a glaze of similar pale milky blue tone is illustrated by R. Krahl in Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, vol. 1, London, 1994, p. 233, no. 386.