Lot 2. A Jianyao 'Hare's fur' 'Imperial tribute' tea bowl, Gong Yu mark, Song Dynasty  (960-1279); 11.8cm (4 5/8in) diam. Estimate £ 3,000 - 5,000 (€ 3,400 - 5,700). Sold for £ 4,750 (€ 5,437) inc. premium. © Bonhams 2001-2018

Of conical form with steep sides and a slight indentation below the gently everted rim, covered in a glossy caramel-russet glaze with black streaks emanating from the centre of the interior, the exterior similarly decorated with the glaze pooling above the unglazed foot revealing the dark purple-brown body, the base incised with the characters Gong yu. 

Note: A similar bowl in the Arthur M.Sackler Museum, Harvard University, with an incised Gongyu mark on the base is illustrated by R.Mowry, Hare's Fur, Tortoiseshell, and Partridge Feathers, Cambridge, Mass., 1995, no.76, where he discusses the connoisseurship of these wares in the Song court, pp.204-208.