Of compressed globular shape with a straight neck and a slightly flaring foot. It is skillfully carved, in a Sgraffito technique, through the cream-white slip coating to the light beige/grey body with large peony blossoms surrounded by leafy stems and covered in a transparent glaze. The inside is unglazed and it has a high fired stoneware body. These types of jars were produced in north China in Hebei, Shanxi and Henan in Northern Song/Jin dynasty.
Period: Northern Song - Jin Dynasty
Size: Height 13.2 cm, diameter at the widest place 15 cm
Condition: Good condition, expected wear and glaze crackles, small areas in connection with the deeper carving without glaze, no cracks or repairs found under UV-light.
Provenance: From a Swedish private collection
SKU: 191
References: For a jar carved in similar technique see Sanjin Kiln Fire – Ancient Chinese Shanxi Ceramics, Shenzhen Wangye Museum, 2013, plate 89.
See also shards excavated at the Hunyuan kiln site in Shanxi, illustrated in The specimens of ancient Chinese kilns in the collection of the Palace Museum – Shanxi, Gansu and Inner Mongolia Volume, Feng Xiaoqi, The forbidden city publishing house, 2013, plates 71-76.
A Vase with similar carving and clay was excavated in Handan city, Hebei. It is illustrated in Complete Collection of Ceramic Art unearthed in China - Hebei, Zhang Bai, Science Press, Bejing, 2008, plate 117
A related jar was sold by Bonhams, London in 2017
More info: Northern White Ware
