NORTHERN SONG-JIN DYNASTY, 11TH-12TH CENTURY

The glaze on this bowl is a very successful example of the Song dynasty dark brown, iron-rich glaze with russet splashes that contain an even higher percentage of iron. Such glazes developed from earlier Tang glazes, but the Song potters utilized more refined raw materials and higher firing temperatures to achieve greater contrast and control. See N. Wood, Chinese Glazes - Their Origins, Chemistry and Recreations, London/Philadelphia, 1999, p. 142.

Compare the similar russet-splashed black-glazed bowl from the Edward T. Chow Collection, sold at Sotheby Parke-Bernet, 16 December 1980, lot 256. See, also, the bowl covered with a similar black glaze accented with russet splashes from the Falk Collection, sold at Christie's New York, 20 September 2001, lot 82.