A 'Jian' 'hare's fur' 'tenmoku' bowl and lacquer stand, Southern Song dynasty | 南宋　建窰兔毫天目茶盞 連漆盞托

This striking 'hare's fur' bowl is enveloped in a lustrous black glaze pooling short of the foot, revealing a dark stoneware body. Brilliantly streaked with radiant striations, its visual impact is enhanced by a metal-bound rim and an accompanying lacquer stand, reflecting its esteemed historical provenance.

Contrasting dramatically with the white foam of whipped tea, such bowls were highly prized during the Song dynasty (960-1279). Emperor Huizong (r. 1101-1125) famously declared black-glazed bowls with 'hare's fur' to be the most desirable. Introduced to Japan alongside Zen Buddhism during the Kamakura period (1185-1333), these bowls, known as tenmoku, have been treasured in Japanese tea ceremonies for centuries.

A similar bowl was exhibited in Karamono temmoku, MOA Art Museum, Atami, 1994, cat. no. 6. Another in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, was included in Hare's Fur, Tortoiseshell, and Partridge Feathers, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, Mass., 1996, cat. no. 83.

此建窰茶盞釉色烏黑瑩潤，兔毫斑紋閃耀奪目。外壁施釉不及底，露紫褐色胎骨。口沿鑲金屬扣，連精美漆盞托，足見其流傳過程中備受珍視。

宋代（960-1279年）盛行點茶，黑釉與白沫對比強烈，深受推崇。宋徽宗曾於《大觀茶論》明言：「盞色貴青黑，玉毫條達者為上」，正指此類建盞。建盞於鐮倉時代（1185-1333年）隨禪宗傳入日本，被稱為「天目」，數世紀以來在日本茶道中世代相傳，奉為圭臬。

參考一相類作例，展於熱海MOA美術館1994年《唐物天目》，編號6。紐約大都會藝術博物館亦藏一例，曾展於麻省哈佛大學藝術博物館，見《Hare's Fur, Tortoiseshell, and Partridge Feathers》，劍橋市，1996年，編號83。