Splash-glazed wares were made in the Tang dynasty primarily in Henan province, where several kilns that produced them have been found. The earliest discoveries were the kilns of Huangdao in Jiaxian, for which these wares are often named. Other kiln sites have since been excavated in Lushan, Neixiang and Yuxian in Henan and also in the area of Jiaocheng, Shanxi province. See Xianmeng et al., Zhongguo taocishi (History of Chinese Ceramics), Wenwu Press, Beijing, 1982, p. 213

Frequently seen among this group of wares are jars, some of impressive size, on which the black or dark brown glaze stops short of the base. The bluish or yellowish-white splashes are applied after glazing, often poured onto the pot held in a sideways or an inverted position

The striking splash on this vessel can be compared to a similarly decorated ewer illustrated in Sekai Toji Zenshu, vol. 11, Tokyo, 1976, p. 155, no. 147. Other comparable examples are in the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Newark Museum. See Jennifer Neils, ed., The World of Ceramics - Masterpieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, 1982, no. 95; and Valrae Reynolds et al., "2000 Years of Chinese Ceramics - The Newark Museum Collection", The Newark Museum Quarterly, 1977, 28:3/4, cover

Compare, also, the example from the Hardy Collection, sold in these rooms, September 21, 1995, lot 97 and another sold June 3, 1993, lot 193