JIZHOU WARE BOWL WITH PAPER-CUT DESIGN
SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY (1127-1279)
14.3 cm diameter, 4.5 cm high
The conical bowl rises from a small foot to shallow sides spreading to a wide mouth. The interior is decorated with a paper-cut motif of two long-tailed phoenixes in flight, divided by two flower blossoms in the same resist technique, all reserved in dark-brown against a finely variegated beige ground. The exterior is covered with a ‘tortoiseshell’ mottled dark-brown glaze except for the base, which shows the buff-coloured stoneware body.
A pair of phoenixes in flight symbolises the wish ‘May you have a harmonious marriage’, fenghuang yufei. This motif can be found on Jizhou-ware tea bowls of various forms and sizes. Compare a closely related bowl published by the Shenzhen Museum in Jizhou Kiln Porcelain from the Song and Yuan Dynasties, 2012, pl. 057, p. 85. Another very similar bowl, formerly in the Falk Collection, is illustrated in Robert D. Mowry, Hare’s Fur, Tortoiseshell and Partridge Feathers, Harvard University Art Museum, 1996, pl. 97.
Provenance:
Eskenazi, London