A rare Jizhou 'speckled deer' bowl. Southern Song dynasty. Photo Bonhams

Of conical form rising steeply from a short foot, applied with a rich black-brown glaze decorated to the interior with nine rows of concentric pale white and russet spots radiating from the centre, the exterior with russet splashed, the glaze on the exterior falling short of the foot revealing the pale beige buffware.10.9cm diam. Sold for HK$93,750

南宋 吉州窯黑釉鹿斑盌

Tea bowls of this design, known in Japan as 'speckled deer' temmoku, are extremely rare. For a closely related example, see the bowl in the Hakutsure Art Museum, Kobe, illustrated in Hakutsuru eika, 1978, pl. 48. For an example sold at auction, see Sotheby's London, 19 June 2002, lot 27.

Bonhams. FINE CHINESE ART, 28 Nov 2011. Hong Kong www.bonhams.com