An exceptional and rare 'Jian' black-glazed 'hare's fur' bowl, Southern Song dynasty | 南宋 建窰黑釉銀兔毫盞

Japanese Private Collection.

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日本私人收藏

The present bowl represents the classic form of tea ware produced at the kilns in Jianyang in Fujian province, and is particularly notable for its silver ‘hare’s fur’ markings. The striking black glazes of Jian bowls can show various different effects, when air bubbles in the glaze burst, leaving a pattern of streaks, compared to hare’s fur, or spots compared to oil spots, that can range in tone from rust brown to metallic blue. With its enigmatic deep black glaze interspersed with dark metallic silvery steaks, the present bowl is among the one of rarest and most highly coveted examples.

Related Jian bowls of this type include one from the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, exhibited in Hare’s Fur, Tortoiseshell and Partridge Feathers, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 1995, cat. no. 79; another, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (II), Hong Kong, 1996, pl. 204; a third bowl from the Sir David Percival Collection and now in the British Museum, London, published in Oriental Ceramics. The World’s Great Collections, vol. 6, Tokyo, 1982, pl. 44; and a fourth from the collection of Sakamoto Goro, sold in these rooms, 16th September 2014, lot 5.

Tea bowls of this type were renowned for their unique suitability for drinking tea as the fine foam of the whisked powdered tea contrasted attractively with the dark glaze of the vessel. The thickness of the glaze also helped keep the tea warm while protecting the hands of the drinker from the hot beverage. Furthermore, the concave indentation below the rim of the bowl allows a firm grip and is said to cause the drinker to consume the tea in small sips, which is important for the full appreciation and enjoyment of tea.

From literature it is known that the best quality Jian bowls were carefully selected as tribute from Fujian to the court. Jian bowls were also taken to Japan by Buddhist monks who spent time in Chinese monasteries. ‘Temmoku’ is the Japanese pronunciation of 'Tianmu', a mountain in Zhejiang, north of Jianyang, where monastic communities favored the use of Jian bowls for tea drinking. Tea consumption was an established practice in Buddhist monasteries as tea was prized as a stimulant in assisting Buddhist monks in their meditation. For an extensive study on the history of Jian ware and their transportation to Japan, see Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere, ‘Defining Temmoku: Jian Ware Tea Bowls Imported into Japan’, Hare’s Fur, Tortoiseshell, and Partridge Feathers, Cambridge, 1995, pp 43-58.