Tea Bowl (yan-kou wan), Jian ware, Song dynasty, 12th-13th century. Dark-brown stoneware with dark-brown glaze and iron oxide markings, 2 15/16 x 5 1/4 in. (7.5 x 13.34 cm). Gift of Ruth and Bruce Dayton 2000.209.1 © 2015 All Rights Reserved. Minneapolis Institute of Art.

Highly respected items of the court during the reign of Emperor Hui Zong (r. 1101-1125), Jian ware tea bowls from Kiangsu province came in two sizes; this classic example can be considered the larger variety. Appearing bluish black, a deep brown glaze covers the bowl stopping in a thick welt above the foot. Because the molten glaze crawled downward in firing, the lip is left virtually unglazed. In the upper portions, a dense pattern of russet streaks known as "hare's-fur" extend from the lip toward the vessel floor, both inside and outside the deep bowl. Northern Song (960-1127) texts suggest that these distinctly glazed bowls were used to prepare the white whipped tea then in vogue.