Small Chinese Qingbai Jar and Cover, Northern Song, 12th Century

Ref: W630

£ 1,250

Price is subject to availability and market conditions.

Small Chinese Qingbai jar and cover, Northern Song, 12th century, with a short neck and a bulbous body, the sea-green glaze thinning to the rim and base, the bottom unglazed, the flanged rim of the lid incurving to a small central flat knop

Dimensions:

Diameter: 10.5cm. (4 1/8in.), height: 6.3cm.(2 1/2in.)

Condition:

Chip to rim and firing fault and small stain to cover

Notes:

Qingbai wares, whose name translates to 'blue white', were developed in Jiangxi province during the Song dynasty. The icy blue colour is caused by iron impurities in the glaze reacting with the smoky atmosphere of a reduction kiln. Dragon kilns (lungyao) were especially common in southern China, and relied on wood for fuel, which resulted in a 'reducing' atmosphere where oxygen levels are lowered and metallic oxides convert.