BOWL, Jizhou Kiln, brown-glazed, Song–Yuan Period (960–1368 CE)

A brown-glazed bowl from the Jizhou kiln, dating to the Song–Yuan period.

The bowl is shallow and open, its rim slightly elliptical, and wheel-throwing marks remain on the body.
It was originally covered with a brown glaze, much of which has now flaked away, revealing a hard, well-fired, gray-brown clay body. On parts of the exterior blackish-brown to reddish-brown glaze survives and, where it overlaps soil-derived iron staining believed to result from burial, the surface acquires a stone-like texture.

The Jizhou kilns were a representative group of folk kilns of the Song–Yuan period, produced around Ji'an in Jiangxi Province.
Although known for tenmoku-style black and brown glazes, leaf motifs, and paper-cut designs, even in this undecorated bowl the iron-rich glaze and the compact, well-fired character of the clay are plainly evident. It is not a vessel that relies on decoration; rather, it is a bowl whose surface has become a landscape shaped by firing and by the changes it underwent during burial and excavation.

The interior displays a concentric glaze boundary, thought to result from multiple firings; the glaze surface shows soil staining, iron spots, and areas of glaze abrasion.
Around the foot the body is exposed, with adhering reddish clay and traces of wheel-throwing marks.
The rim has small chips and glaze wear, and the piece retains a stable condition typical of excavated ceramics.

It may also be regarded as a stand for vessels used with Chinese tea or sencha.