Henan Blackware vase, circa 1200, China, Song dynasty (960 - 1279), Henan Province, stoneware with a black glaze, 4.0 cm diam. of mouth; 22.0 x 19.0 cm. Gift of Graham E. Fraser 1993. 332.1993. Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney (C) Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney

Brown-glazed stonewares from the Henan province were part of an extensive ceramic industry that spread throughout northern China during the Song dynasty. They were a popular ware used in most households and not a select quality ware collected by connoisseurs and eulogised in literature. From a technical viewpoint, this vase demonstrates the achievements in kiln control of northern potters around the year 1200. These achievements enabled the creation of appealing, rusty-brown suffused patterns in the black glaze: the result of precipitations of iron oxide in a reducing atmosphere in the kiln.

'Asian Art', AGNSW Collections, 1994, pg. 194.

Brown glazed bowl, China, Song dynasty (960 - 1279), Henan Province, stoneware, 7.2 x 17.8 cm. Gift of Dr. Peter Elliott 1995. 220.1995. Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney (C) Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney