Small blue cup with splashed glaze, Northern Song dynasty, about AD 1000–1127, Jun ware, Yuxian, Henan province. Stoneware with opalescent blue and purple glazes. Height: 4,1 cm; Diameter: 8,5 cm - Diameter: 3,1 cm (base). Sir Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, PDF 45 © Trustees of the British Museum

This cup has a lavender glaze splashed with deep purple. It was probably used for drinking alcohol and might have been used in conjunction with a stand. Where the Jun glaze runs thin towards the edge of the cup, it becomes semi-transparent to olive green. Compared to contemporary Northern Song celadons such as Ru and Yaozhou wares, Jun wares have relatively coarse stoneware bodies. Jun wares are characterised by opalescent blue, purple or occasionally green glazes. This type of cup is known as a ‘bubble bowl’. When held under an artificial light, it appears that a bubble rises up and moves around as you turn the bowl.