Northern Song Black Glazed Cup of Cizhou Type
A Northern Song Black Glazed Cup, North China of Cizhou Type, Hebei Area, Northern Song Dynasty 11th or 12th Century. This teabowl is gently flared and sits on a rather thin shallow foot, the base shows shallow marks where it was finished off. Below the shallow channel finishing the exterior of the footring, where it meets the main body of the bowl, are chatter-marks radiating around the bowl. The potter’s fingernail marks are clearly visible on the exterior of the footring. The body is of a fine clay, light in weight, indicating its porous nature. The rim is dressed with a cream coloured slip, a ridge can be felt as it is higher than the single dipped dark glaze. Part of this pale slip has run from the edge of the bowl during firing, exposing the body. The glaze is a very dark brown giving the appearance of black, it has a delicate mottled surface, similar to some eggshells, this diffuses the light and adds to the subtle rich variety of colours. The cream coloured band is similar to that found on some black Dingyao pieces, these are suggestive of the metal bands that were made for some Song ceramic bowls.
See Below For More Photographs and References.
SOLD
- Condition
- In very good condition, minor glaze chip and ting frits to the rim. Firing faults : part of the pale slip has run from the edge of the bowl during firing, exposing the body. The is a firing fault to the base.
- Size
- Diameter : 11.5 cm (4 1/2 inches). Height : 4 cm (1 1/2 inches).
- Provenance
- N/A
- Stock number
- 27234
- References
- A very similar bowl, dated to the Jin dynasty and described as Cizhou ware is illustrated in : Chinese Ceramics from The Irie Collection (National Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka. ISBN 4-900502-29-4. 1997) page 11, plate64. A similar but shallower bowl dated to Northern Song, probably late 11th to early 12th century, from the collection of Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard University is illustrated in : Hare's Fur, Tortoiseshell, and Partridge Feathers, Chinese Brown And Black Glazed Ceramics, 400-1400 (Robert D. Mowry, Harvard University Art Museum Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1996). Page 132, plate 31. A bowl of this type is illustrated in : Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, Volume One (Regina Krahl, Azimuth Editions 1994. ISBN 1-8985592-02-0) page 245, plate 441.
Photos
Information
A Related Northern Song Bowl
- Robert McPherson Antiques : Sold Archive Number 21193.
A Northern Song Blackware Bowl of Cizhou Type, Possibly from Yuzhou or Henan Province.
The Black Glaze has a White Slip to the Notched Rim. The Lower Part of the Bowl has a Coffee Coloured Glaze.
The iron-oxide glaze has been applied in two layers, the first a relatively thin coffee coloured glaze was then followed by a rich deep black glaze. This Song stoneware bowl has a white rim, this was achieved by wiping the black glaze from the rim and then replacing it with white slip and applying a transparent glaze. During the Song Dynasty (960-1279) some ceramics were fired on the rim, this meant the rim couldn't have glaze on it during the firing process, so the rough unglazed rim would then be bound in metal. Current thinking about ceramics of this period with white slipped rims is that they might be imitating the metal rims found on some ceramics. However, blackwares don't seam to have metal rims added and it might just be that the white slipped rims look very striking against the lustrous black glaze.
For a Northern Song Blackware Zun with a similar white slip rim see : Chinese Glazes, Their Origins, Chemistry and Recreation (Nigel Wood, A & C Black, London, 1999) page 142.
For two Northern Song Cizhou type bowl with a white slip rim see : Hare's Fur, Tortoiseshell, and Partridge Feathers, Chinese Brown And Black Glazed Ceramics, 400-1400 (Robert D. Mowry, Harvard University Art Museum Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1996). Page 132 plate 31 and page 133 plate 32.
- Condition Two large fine cracks c.60 mm and 28 mm and four small shallow rim chips.
- Size Diameter : 13 cm (5 1/8 inches). Height : 6.3 cm (2 1/2 inches)
- Robert McPherson Antiques : Sold Archive Number 21193.
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A Northern Song Blackware Bowl of Cizhou Type, Possibly from Yuzhou or Henan Province. The Black Glaze has a White Slip to the Notched Rim. The Lower Part of the Bowl has a Coffee Coloured Glaze.