A FINE AND RARE 'KONOHA TEMMOKU' TEA BOWL SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY, 12TH/ 13TH CENTURY

of 'Jizhou' manufacture, of conical shape with a small raised knob in the centre, covered with a fine opaque dark brown glaze that leaves the lip in a slightly lighter tone, and decorated on the inside with a large trefoil tree leaf with worm-eaten holes, forming an attractive yellowish-brown silhouette with fine veining, ivory-tinted edges and a honey-coloured stem, the low narrow footring and recessed base exposed in the pale biscuit



in Japanese ivory silk pouch (shifuku) with matching silk cushion and four corner posts, in ribbon-tied paulownia-wood box and cover, ribbon-tied black-lacquered outer box and cover, and brown cotton furoshiki with inscribed wooden tag

Collection of Alfred Clark (no. 609) (1930s).
Mayuyama & Co. Ltd, Tokyo.

International Exhibition of Chinese Art, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1935-6, cat. no. 1150.

Arts de la Chine Ancienne, Musée de l'Orangerie, Paris, 1937, cat. no. 681.

Sung Dynasty Wares. Chun and Brown Glazes, Oriental Ceramic Society, London, 1952, cat. no. 178.

Bi no bi/Exhibition of Select Works of Ancient Chinese Art, Mitsukoshi, Nihonbashi, Tokyo, 1973, cat. no. 64.

Meiwan gojū sen. [Fifty famous tea bowls], Okayama Art Museum, Okayama, 1977, cat. no. 5.

Temmoku, Tokugawa Art Museum and Nezu Art Museum, Tokyo, 1979, cat. no. 83.

Chūgoku no tōji/Special Exhibition of Chinese Ceramics, Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, 1994, cat. no. 212.

 

Kōyama Fujiō, Tōji taikei [Outlines of ceramics], vol. 38: Temmoku, Tokyo, 1974, pls 40 and 41, and fig. 48.

Ryūsen Shūhō/Mayuyama, Seventy Years, Tokyo, 1976, vol. I, pl. 677.

 

This exceptionally rare bowl is in good condition with the exception of some minor nibbles to the rim, some minor glaze firing imperfections including glaze crazing, burst glaze bubbles and minor scratching to the glaze to the interior and exterior.
"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 statement made by Sotheby'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."

The 'Jizhou' kilns at Yonghezhen, Ji'an county in Jiangxi province, a region formerly called Jizhou, were not blessed with the finest raw materials for making stonewares, but came up with the most original ideas for decorating. They were unique in exploiting the chemical composition of real tree leaves for making tea bowls with most naturalistic – because natural – silhouette leaf designs. In Japan, these bowls have become known by the same term 'temmoku' that designates black-glazed tea bowls of 'Jian' ware, but with the specification 'konoha', 'tree leaf'. The present bowl is among the finest of its type, of large, well-potted form, with a smooth brownish-black glaze and a leaf of interesting outline of a kind otherwise rarely used on such bowls.

 

A related bowl is illustrated in Gugong Songci tulu. Longquan yao, Geyao ji qita ge yao/Illustrated Catalogue of Sung Dynasty Porcelain in the National Palace Museum. Lung-ch'üan Ware, Ko Ware and Other Wares, Taipei, 1974, pl. 72; another from the collection of Kamei Takayoshi was included in the Mostra d'Arte Cinese/Exhibition of Chinese Art, Palazzo Ducale, Venice, 1954, cat. no. 949; and one was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 25^th October 1993, lot 701.