Lot 88. A pair of green 'Jun' bubble bowls, Song dynasty (960-1279). Diameter 4 in., 10 cm. Estimate 40,000 — 60,000 USD. Lot sold 56,250 USD. Photo Sotheby's.

each rising from a short straight foot to shallow rounded sides, covered overall with a thick lustrous soft grayish-green glaze suffused with crackles thinning towards the rim, the footrim unglazed revealing the reddish-brown body, wood stands (4). 

Note: The Jun kilns located in the counties of Yu and Linru in Henan province are best known for wares applied with rich opaque pale blue glaze. However, they also produced fine wares that were applied with a similarly unctuous glaze of a soft green color as seen on the present pair. These green Jun wares share similarities with their blue counterparts, but have a higher alumina content indicating that the potter's were mindful of the difference and created them specifically. Very few examples of bubble bowls with green glaze appear to be published. However, see a related green Jun bubble bowl, published in A. Du Boulay, Christie's Pictorial History of Chinese Ceramics, Oxford, 1984, p. 86, fig. 2.

Sotheby's. Song Tradition: Early Ceramics from the Yang De Tang Collection. New York, 17 march 2015, 11:00 AM