A purplish-brown painted black-glazed globular bottle

金   黑釉花卉紋小口瓶

The bottle is of well potted globular form tapering  slightly to the foot and supporting a short neck with  capstan-shaped mouth. The exterior of the bottle is  applied with a lustrous black glaze swiftly painted in  a purplish-brown with a metallic sheen with a design  of stylized leafy floral sprays. The base is also glazed  leaving only the bevelled footrim unglazed, showing
the fine buff-coloured ware.

Bottles of this form were intended for storing wine and  would have been sealed with a cloth-wrapped bung tied off  with cord, for which the distinctive shape of mouth was  perfectly designed.

For a bottle of the same type and size although  with the more usual russet-coloured decoration,  see Hare’s Fur, Tortoiseshell, and Partridge  Feathers, Chinese Brown- and Black-Glazed  Ceramics, 400-1400, no. 53, p. 161-163.

Dimensions: Height: 19 cm, 7 ½ inches

Date: Jin dynasty (1115-1234)

Stock No. 1133

Price: On Request