Fine Art

Song Dynasty Jian Kiln 'Hare's Fur' Tea Bowl

Period

Southern Song dynasty, 12th–13th century

Origin

Jianyang, Fujian

Dimensions

Diameter 12.4 cm

A classic conical tea bowl of the Jian kilns, the iron-rich glaze running to a russet rim and streaked with fine hare’s fur. These bowls were made for whisked tea and prized in both China and Japan; the Japanese tea tradition knows them as tenmoku. The foot is neatly cut, the glaze pooling in a thick welt just above it.