under Lavender Glaze and Brownish Patches
(Chinese Numeral Seven Mark incised on Base)
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Attributed Date: (960 -1127 ) Northern Sung Dynasty Archaeological Analysis: Significance: |
The Sung Dynasty (960 -1279) consisted of two phases. In the first phase, Northern Sung, which ran from 960 - 1127, China was united. In 1127 the tartars invaded and China was divided again. The Southern Sung, the second phase of the Sung Dynasty, consisted of Central and Southern China. The northern Chinese Province was occupied by the Jurchen Tartars, who called themselves the Jin dynasty.
Sung dynasty is quite different from the previous Tang dynasty, which had a remarkable western influence; Sung has shown an inward artistic inspiration of its own, since it enjoyed a period of peace without western interference. Its aesthetic and lofty elegance is reflected in its muted tones of nature oriented ceramics. Apart from for court demand, ceramics were produced for the mass market. Many kilns were well-established and scattered in different regions of China for this market. Therefore the Sung ceramics are categorized into different groups according to the location of their kilns instead of certain standardized styles. They are: Ding ware from the Ding kiln sites of the Jiancium in Quyang County, Hebei, north of the Yangtze River; the Yaozhou Celadon ware from the Yaozhou kiln sites located in Tongchuan, Shaanxi; the Cizhou ware from the Cizhou kilns in the area surrounding Handan, Hebei; the Ru ware or known as Ru guan ware (the word guan means official or imperial and implies that wares were made for official or royal use, therefore these kilns are believed to be official pottery workshops.) at the Linru County kiln sites in Henan; and the Jun ware from the Jun kilns of Yuxian County. Certain characteristics were adhered to, to a greater or lesser degree, by their family members, but styles may overlap in different kilns. For instance, the Run ware and Jun ware look quite like each other because they both have the same thick coating of repeated applications of glaze. The similarity of their coating technique may be due to the fact that the locations of their kilns are quite close to each other. One should remember that these wares were made by a large number of artisans who worked at an enormous numbers of kilns over various regions of China, over a long period of time, therefore any one kiln may not be standardized in one particular style.
Significance:
This tripod basin with foliated rim under lavender glaze and brownish patches is attributed to Jun ware of the Northern Sung dynasty. Jun wares are generally categorized into four groups: green, lavender-blue, lavender-blue with purple splashes and purple-and-blue streaked. The green and lavender-blue groups may be mistaken for Ru wares because of their shine and colour, but the technologies of Jun and Ru wares are quite different. This tripod basin, which belongs to the purple-and-blue with streaks group of Jun ware, has a beautiful thick coating of lavenderish purple glaze. The gradation of purple can be subdued to vivid reddish purple, depending on the thickness of opaque blue mottled overglaze. The edges and the streaks of the vessel are reddish brown because its fine plastic clay contains iron. The deliberately made brown streaks resembles metal ware. Bulb bowls and Jardinieres are the popular shapes of Jun ware, and this vessel is a tripod basin of a small Jardiniere. The sophisticated foliated cross-sections and applied bosses around the edge are better known in metalwork. The shape of a flat dish with flattened rim may also suggest the influence of metalwork on Jun wares. Another characteristic of Jun wares is their weight and thickness. Their bodies are usually strong and thick with thick glazing. The non-circular shaped rim and the thickness of the vessel suggest the use of molds instead of the wheel-throwing technique.
The base of Jun ware has the most distinctive feature, in that it is usually marked with numbers from one to ten. The numbers seem to indicate their sizes, one is the biggest and ten is the smallest. A Chinese numeral seven mark is incised on the base of this lavender glazed basin. The Jun kilns continued to be produced throughout the whole Sung, Jin and Yuan dynasties.
