A RARE AND SUPERB JUNYAO PURPLE-SPLASHED 'BUBBLE' BOWL JIN DYNASTY

with steep rounded sides rising from to a short neat knife-cut foot to a gently incurved rim, applied overall save for the foot with a lustrous pale milky-blue glaze draining to a mushroom tone at the rim and pooling short of the foot, the exterior and interior liberally decorated with vibrant lavender-blue splashes, later applied with Japanese kintsugi restoration

Hirano Kotoken, Tokyo.
Sadao Ogawa, Tokyo.
Sotheby's New York, 15th September 2010, lot 308.
Eskenazi Ltd, London.

Junyao, Eskenazi Ltd, London, 2013, cat. no. 8.

This charming bubble bowl is well potted with a pleasant shape and attractive glaze. As visible in the catalogue illustration, the bowl has Japanese gold lacquer restoration, which appear to originate from a semi-circular break on the rim approximately 1 1/4 inch wide and includes two restored cracks, one running across the foot and the other along one side. The glaze with fine surface wear.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any stat.mes nt made by Replica Shoes 's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Among the genre of Song dynasty ceramics, Junyao bubble bowls are perhaps the most tactile and personal of items, as the small rounded sides and unctuous glaze allow the bowls to conform perfectly to the hands.

It is rare to find a Junyao bubble bowl with this striking combination of intense and rich splashes on the interior and the unusual arrangement of smaller splashes on the exterior, reminiscent of the bowl from the collects ion of Sir David Home, Bt., exhibited at the Oriental Ceramics Society exhibition of Sung Dynasty Wares, Chun and Brown Glazes, London, 1952, cat. no. 157 and sold in these rooms, 24th November 1987, lot 5. For intensity of colouration, compare the two extraordinary bowls from the Edward T. Chow collects ion sold in our London rooms, 16th December 1980, lots 264 and 265, and again in these rooms, the former on 19th May 1987, lot 209, and later in the T.T. Tsui collects ion, the latter on 7th June 2000, lot 93. Similar bowls are in the Eumorfopoulos collects ion, illustrated in R.L. Hobson, The Catalogue of the George Eumorfopoulos collects ion of Chinese, Corean and Persian Pottery and Porcelain, vol. 2, pls A31 and A32; and in the Matsuoka collects ion, included in Matsuoka Bijutsukan shūzō Chūgoku tōji meihin ten [Masterpieces of Chinese ceramics from the Matsuoka Museum of Art], Tokyo, 1983, pl. 36, formerly in the Schoenlicht collects ion, sold in our London rooms, 13th December 1955, lot 76, and in the H.M. Knight collects ion, and sold again in these rooms, 18th May 1982, lot 109.

According to Rose Kerr, Song Dynasty Ceramics, London, 2004, p. 34, the splashes found on Jun wares are made with the application of copper brushwork to dry glazes in broad strokes or washes, which then merged with the bluish Junyao glazes at full heat. This copper painting provided a striking contrast to the thick bright blue glaze beneath giving each vessel decorated in this manner its unique design.