A SMALL JIAN ‘HARE’S FUR’ TEA CUP, SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY

拍品描述

A SMALL JIAN ‘HARE’S FUR’ TEA CUP, SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY Expert’s note Jian tea bowls of such exceptionally small size are rare within the entire production of these celebrated wares. With a diameter of only 8.8 cm, the present example is almost closer in scale to a tea cup than a conventional tea bowl. Only few comparable examples of this diminutive format appear to be known. The two bowls included in the Auction Result Comparison display closely related glazes, but measure both around 12 cm in diameter, representing the considerably more common standard size. China, 1127-1279. Well potted, the deep rounded sides covered inside and out with a thick lustrous black glaze finely streaked with silvery-brown 'hare's fur' markings and pooling irregularly above the foot to reveal the buff ware fired to a brown color. Dimensions: Diameter 8.8 cm This classic Jian ware tea bowl displays finely streaked ‘hare’s fur’ markings with an iridescent sheen, a glaze effect created through the complex interaction of iron-rich glaze, kiln atmosphere, and firing temperature. The unpredictability of the firing process resulted in a high rejection rate at the Jian kilns, making well-executed examples such as the present bowl particularly prized. As noted by Robert D. Mowry, Hare’s Fur, Tortoiseshell and Partridge Feathers: Chinese Black-and-Brown-Glazed Ceramics, 400-1400, Cambridge, 1996, p. 213-214, no. 79, bowls of this type were among the most refined products of the Jian kilns and were highly valued for their suitability in tea preparation. These bowls were held in high esteem by the Song Emperors and scholar-official class. Cai Xiang (1012-1067), the famous calligrapher and high official in the Northern Song court designated the ‘hare’s fur’ tea bowls from Jian’an the most appropriate utensil for serving tea in his two-chapter treatise entitled Cha lu (A Record of Tea). He believed the white tea looked best in black-glazed bowls and the slightly thicker walls of Jian wares help to retain the heat of tea. By the early twelfth century, the connoisseurship of Jian tea bowls was further developed by Emperor Huizong (1082-1135). In his treatise on tea, Daguan chalun (A Discourse on Tea in the Daguan Era), he commented that ‘the desirable color of a tea bowl is bluish black and the best examples display clearly streaked hairs.’ Literature comparison: Compare a closely related hare’s fur tea bowl, dated to the Song dynasty, 12th-13th century, 12.4 cm in diameter, in the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard University, object number 1940.3 and illustrated in Robert D. Mowry in Hare's Fur, Tortoiseshell and Partridge Feathers: Chinese Black-and-Brown-Glazed Ceramics, 400-1400, Cambridge, 1996, p. 213-214, no. 79. Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Christie’s Hong Kong, 30 November 2016, lot 3156 Price: HKD 500,000 or approx. EUR 67,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, glaze, ware, and size (12.1 cm) Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Christie’s Hong Kong, 30 May 2022, lot 2848 Price: HKD 327,600 or approx. EUR 40,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, glaze, ware, and size (11.8 cm).

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