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Tea Bowl
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Due to its exceptional size, this Fujian tea bowl is rather rare. The enjoyment of Jian ware rests with the glaze transmutation due to iron in the glaze, which developed into reddish-brown streaks and spots against a rich black glaze after firing. Connoisseurs called these iron formations "hare’s fur" marks, and the ware was very popular with the tea cultures in China and Japan.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineTea Bowl (建窯茶盞), 1100s–1200s. China, Fujian province, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279). Stoneware with black “hare’s fur” glaze and metal-bound rim, Jian ware; diameter: 17.8 cm (7 in.); overall: 8.7 cm (3 7/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1948.206
