Lot 263. A rare inscribed 'Jian' 'Hare's Fur' bowl, Song dynasty (960-1279. Diameter 5 in., 12.7 cm. Estimate 7,000 — 9,000 USD. Lot sold 60,000 USD. Photo: Sotheby's.

well-potted body with deep rounded sides rising from a short straight foot to a lip bordered with a thin concave groove, covered overall with a lustrous black glaze suffused with russet 'hare's fur' streaks extending from the rim down the interior and exterior, the glaze terminating in thick drops short of the foot revealing the purplish-brown stoneware body, the base inscribed with two characters jin zhan. 

Provenance: Acquired from a Guangzhou tea connoisseur's collection in the 1970s. 

Note: Inscribed Jian ware bowls are rare and those with one or two character inscriptions on their base possibly belonged to a group that represented the finest wares made for tribute or court use. The two characters on this piece 'jin zhan' are discussed in an article by Marshall P.S. Wu, "Black Glazed Jian Ware and Tea Drinking in the Song Dynasty", Orientations, April 1998, pp. 22-31. The author notes that the jin zhan marks are always incised and that the "calligraphic quality of the 'Jin Zhan' inscriptions is considered superior to that of the more frequently encountered but casually executed, 'Gong Yu' examples." (ibid. p. 25) 

Sotheby's. Important Chinese Art, New York, 15 sept. 2015