This bulb-bowl belongs to a type of ceramics known as Jun ware. Chinese ceramics are often categorized by the geographical area in which they were made, as the kilns of a particular region usually made only one or two types of ceramics at a given time in history.
Jun ware was produced in the kilns of the Henan province and its height of production was during the Song dynasty (960-1279). After this period, Jun wares were not widely collected until the late Ming dynasty (1368-1644), when they were first mentioned in scholarly writings. By the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) their status had elevated, when the Qianlong emperor (reigned 1736-95) was an admirer of them and used them for decorating his domestic spaces. This popularity continued through the late Qing and Republican periods in the early twentieth century and scholars suggest that modern copies were likely to have been made. This bulb-bowl demonstrates the Jun characteristics of a coarse stoneware body with a thick green-blue glaze that runs thin at the edges. However, details from its base, its form and the quality of its glaze suggest that it is likely to have been a copy of the later date.