Lot 17. A fine and rare 'Jun' teabowl, Northern Song dynasty (960-1127); 11.4 cm, 4 1/2  in. Estimate £60,000 - £80,000. Lot Sold 72,500 GBP (93,677 USD). Courtesy Sotheby's.

the short spreading foot supporting gently rounded conical sides rising to a flared rim, evenly applied on the interior and exterior with a fine milky sky-blue glaze suffused with pale crackles and draining to a mushroom tone at the rim, the glaze pooling unevenly above the unglazed foot.

Property from the Rui Xiu Lou Collection.

Provenance: Collection of Johannes Hellner, Stockholm.
Sotheby's New York, 20th March 2002, lot 106.
Collection of Francisco Capelo.
Sotheby's London, 12th May 2010, lot 149.

Literature: Francisco Capelo et. al., Forms of Pleasure. Chinese Ceramics from Burial to Daily Life, London, 2009, pl. 55..

Note: Notable for its subtle light blue glaze, one of the most coveted glazes made at kilns in Junzhou, present-day Yuzhou, Henan province, this bowl is unusual for its elegant flared form with a gently lipped rim. A bowl of similar shape and glaze is illustrated in Michael Sullivan, Chinese Ceramics, Bronzes and Jades in the Collection of Sir Alan and Lady Barlow, London, 1963, pl. 35c; one was sold in these rooms, 9th June 2004, lot 174; another from the collection of Lord Cunliffe, included in the Oriental Ceramic Society exhibition Sung Dynasty Wares: Chün and Brown Glazes, London, 1952, cat. no. 76, was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 1st October 1991, lot 717.