National Treasure. Bottle, celadon with iron brown spots, Yuan dynasty, 14th century. Longquan ware. Height (cm) 27.4. Maximum Diameter (cm) 14.6. Weight (g) 951. The Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka (gift of SUMITOMO Group, the ATAKA Collection), photograph by MUDA Tomohiro. (Accession No. 00556).

In Japan, this type of celadon with iron spots on the body is known as tobi seiji (spotted celadon) and has traditionally been favored by tea masters. This is one of the most outstanding works in terms of both the color of the glaze and the superb placement of the iron spots. The form of this bottle is called yuhuchun. The pleasant contrast of the slender neck and the pear-shaped swollen body demonstrates an extraordinary balance of the whole work. The glaze on the foot ring has been trimmed off for about five millimeters from the very bottom, exposing the dark, reddish brown clay body. This particular piece had been preserved by the Konoike family and similar examples are housed in the Victoria and Albert Museum in the UK and the Baur Collection in Switzerland.