BOWL 1

Dimensions: Height 7,2 cm Wide 12 cm Depth 12 cm
Weight: 364,2 grams

BOWL 2

Dimensions: Height 5,8 cm Wide 11,5 cm Depth 11,5 cm
Weight: 235,5 grams

Each thinly potted bowl is raised on a short foot with steeply flared sides. The interior and exterior are covered with a lustrous black glaze, finely streaked with russet and brown vertical striations forming the distinctive ‘hare’s fur’ (tu hao wen) effect. At the rims the glaze thins to reveal the reddish-brown stoneware body. One bowl shows burial encrustation and signs of age, the other preserves a deeper glossy surface with light crackling to the glaze.

These bowls were produced at the Jian kilns in Fujian province during the Song dynasty, admired for their dramatic glaze effects which complemented the aesthetics of whisked tea. They were highly esteemed in China and later introduced to Japan, where they became central to the development of the tea ceremony.

Comparable examples are preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, and the British Museum, London. Surviving pairs of Jian ware bowls are particularly rare and greatly sought after by collectors.

The present pair, with its vivid hare’s fur glaze and well-preserved form, represents a significant and desirable example of Song dynasty tea ceramics.