Bowl, 12th-13th century made in Jiangxi

Tea drinking underwent a drastic change in tenth-century China, as a result of which two cities in the south started making dark-glazed tea bowls. These were Jianyang and Jizhou (where this unusually large bowl was made), in Fujian and Jiangxi provinces respectively. Prior to this the Chinese drank steeped tea and men of fine taste recommended drinking from a green bowl. When powdered tea replaced leaf tea as the standard drink, black or brown tea bowls were deemed more suitable. The drinker would first pour boiling water on the powdered tea and then use a bamboo whisk to whip up a rich froth which looked very appealing against the dark glaze.

Dark-glazed tea bowls usually have thick walls so that the heat from the boiling water does not scald the drinker's hand. Though they might appear rustic at first sight, Jizhou bowls are in reality highly sophisticated products. The potters manipulated the glaze mixture and the firing and cooling processes to create a wide variety of decorative effects, including 'hare's fur', 'tortoiseshell' and 'oil spot' glazes. This is a highly successful example of the 'hare's fur' type, the glaze having fired to a warm golden colour and the pattern on the inside having a growing appearance. The three flying phoenixes were created by the 'resist' method, a speciality of Jizhou potters. Cut-paper silhouettes shaped as phoenixes were stuck to the first layer of brown glaze, over which another glaze was applied. The paper burned away in the kiln, leaving outline impressions on the bowl.

Purchased with Art Fund support, the Vallentin Bequest, Sir Percival David and the Universities China Committee

Chinese connoisseurs describe the glaze on this bowl as 'hare's fur glaze'. The design of flying phoenixes in brown was created using the resist method. The potter stuck paper-cut images to the first layer of glaze on the bowl and fixed them with a second glaze layer. The paper burnt away in the kiln, leaving an outline impression.

C.30-1935