YUAN DYNASTY (1279-1368)

In the Song period, Jun wares from Yuxian, Henan province with areas of contrasting copper-red were widely admired. Much emphasis was unsurprisingly placed on the quality of the thick, opalescent glaze. The most important characteristic of Jun glaze is the phenomenon known as 'liquid phase separation' which is the formulation of tiny globules of lime-rich glass within the silica-rich glaze matrix, effecting the passage of light in such a way as to produce an attractive blue effect. Jun ware production understandably required great skill and control of the glaze and the firing conditions. Such delicate balances perhaps encouraged a degree of experimentation as the effects of minute changes were observed and understood, leading to the development of new styles of Jun decoration.

This jar is very unusual for its almost entirely reddish-purple surface. See a jar of similar shape dated to the Yuan dynasty illustrated in A Panorama of Ceramics in the Collection of the National Palace Museum: Chün Ware, Taipei, 1999, no. 104. Under the Qianlong reign, the famous Imperial ceramics supervisor, Tang Ying (1682-1756), sent a craftman to Yuxian to research into the glaze recipe of the Jun ware, and Jun ceramics with the same shape and glaze were created. See a Jun-type jar of related shape from the Qianlong period in the Zande Lou collection illustrated in Qing Imperial Monochromes: The Zande Lou Collection, Shanghai Museum, Beijing Museum, and Art Museum, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2005, pp. 118, no. 48.