Cizhou kiln painted Tang grass pattern plum vase, Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), Guanfu Museum, Shanghai.

The central kiln site of Cizhou Kiln is in the area of Guantai Town and Pengcheng Town, Ci County, Handan City, Hebei Province today. Created and fired in the Northern Song Dynasty, it had a great influence on the porcelain kilns in the vast area in the north, forming the Cizhou kiln system, covering the four provinces of Shanxi, Hebei, Shandong and Henan. The white ground and black flower porcelain strongly reflects the rough and majestic style of the folk kiln. It is the most representative product of Cizhou kiln in the Song, Jin and Yuan dynasties. On the formed body, a layer of pure white cosmetic clay is first applied, and then fine black material is used to paint patterns. Finally, a thin and transparent glass glaze is applied and fired in the kiln. The contrast between black and white is strong and the composition is concise. This plum vase has a trapezoidal mouth, slooping shoulders, long belly, and rounded feet. The body of the vessel is divided into five layers with string patterns: the edge of the mouth is dotted with grass leaf patterns; the shoulders, abdomen and waist are covered with arabesque patterns. The painter deliberately ignored the branches of the arabesques and used exaggerated techniques to express the softness and stretch of the flowers and leaves.