Jian Ware Tea Bowl with Oil Drop Glaze (建窯油滴盞)

Southern Song Dynasty, 1127–1279

Diameter of mouth: 12.2 cm, weight: 349 g

The Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, Japan

       Oil-drop tea bowls were produced at the Jian kilns in Fujian province. The oil drops are the result of crystallization of the iron contained in the glaze. The gold band covering the mouth rim is not only for reinforcing the mouth rim but also for visual attraction. This work was brought into Japan during the Kamakura period (1185–1333) and owned by Chancellor Toyotomi Hidetsugu (1568–1595), which was later handed down through the Nishihonganji temple, the Mitsui Family of Kyoto and the Sakai Family of Wakasa Province (present-day Fukui Prefecture).