A JIAN PERSIMMON GLAZED TEA BOWL, SONG DYNASTY China, 960-1279. The conical bowl rising from a short ring foot, covered with a thick and lustrous persimmon glaze forming an uneven rippled surface, stopping irregularly above the lower body, exposing the light-colored ware with its distinct “Jaipur Safran” tone that has become somewhat of a signature feature of the Jian kilns.

Provenance: From an old Austrian private collection.
Condition: Very good condition with some old wear and manufacturing flaws, including glaze pooling and glaze recesses, few minuscule chips to the foot ring, shallow surface scratches. All commensurate with age and as expected on this type of ware.

Weight: 161.8 g
Dimensions: Diameter 11 cm

Jian ware is a type of Chinese pottery originally made in Jianyang, Fujian province, known in Japan as Tenmoku. The bowls typically show simple shapes executed in stoneware, with a strong emphasis on subtle effects in the glazes. In the Song dynasty they achieved a high prestige, especially among Buddhist monks and in relation to tea-drinking. They were also highly valued in Japan, where many of the best examples were collected. Though the ceramic body is light-colored, the wares, generally small cups for tea, bowls and vases, normally are glazed in darker colors, with special effects such as hare's fur, oil spot and partridge feather patterns caused randomly as excess iron in the glaze is forced out during firing.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie's Hong Kong, 4 October 2018, lot 86
Price: HKD 275,000 or approx. EUR 37,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A jian persimmon-glazed tea bowl, Southern Song dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, the similar colors of the persimmon glaze and the ware below, and note the identical size (12.3 cm). Note that this bowl was in the collection of Ryoichi Fujioka, the former chief curator at the Kyoto National Museum, which goes some way to explain the relatively high hammer price, considering the original low estimate was only HKD 100,000.


宋代柿紅釉建盞
中國，960-1279年。盞敞口，口下有棱，深腹，圈足。內外施罩亮澤柿紅釉，色澤沉鬱古穆。口緣釉呈淺褐色，口沿下為赭色，底足露胎。

來源：奧地利私人老收藏。
品相：狀況極好，有磨損和製造缺陷，包括釉池和釉槽，圈足上有少量微小的磕損，表面有淺劃痕。

重量：161.8克
尺寸：直徑11厘米

建盞是一種原產於福建省建陽建窯的中國瓷器，在日本被稱為天目盞。建窯在宋代盛產黑釉瓷而聞名於世，特別是在佛教僧侶和喝茶方面。它們在日本也受到高度尊崇。瓷胎雖為淺色，但一般為小茶杯、碗、花瓶等器物，釉色一般較深，釉面有明顯的垂流和窯變現象，有“兔毫”、“油滴”和“曜變”及“鷓鴣斑”等有名的品種。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：相近
拍賣：香港佳士得，2018年10月4日，lot 86
價格：HKD 275,000（相當於今日EUR 36,000）
描述：南宋柿紅釉建盞
專家評論：比較非常相近的形式、柿紅釉和盞底，並注意相同的尺寸（12.3厘米）。請注意此碗是京都國立博物館前首席館長藤岡了一的收藏，這在一定程度上解釋了相對較高的落槌價，因為最初的低估價只有HKD 100,000。