Bubble Bowl [Ch209]
Jun Ware, Henan Province; Northern Song or Jin Dynasty, 11th-12th century
Stoneware with a blue glaze and purple splashes, with extensive early 20th-century gilt-lacquer repair (D. 8.5 cm)
Jun ware is renowned for its rich blue glaze, applied thickly on a buff-coloured body. Later connoisseurs regarded Jun as one of the ‘Five Classic Wares’ of the Song dynasty (960-1279) along with Ding, Ru, Guan and Ge wares, but it is not mentioned in any contemporary sources. Archaeological evidence shows that Jun ware was manufactured at various kilns in Henan province from the 11th century onwards.
This is a fine example of a type of small Jun vessel known as a ‘bubble bowl’ because light reflecting off the interior creates the visual illusion of a soap bubble formed above the rim. The brilliant purple splashes were produced by brushing copper oxides onto the surface of the unfired glaze. The bowl has been repaired with lacquer and gold leaf, using a Japanese technique known as kintsugi (golden joinery), which was intended to enhance the beauty of a broken object rather than disguise the damage.
The bowl was formerly in the collection of A.L. Hetherington, author of The Early Ceramic Wares of China (1922) and a founder member of the Oriental Ceramics Society. Hetherington had the bowl repaired in September 1931 at a cost of £2:10.
Exhibited: ‘Sung Dynasty Wares: Chun and Brown Glazes’, Oriental Ceramic Society, May 1952, no. 164; ‘The World in Monochromes’, Oriental Ceramic Society, SOAS, 2009, no. 79
Literature: R. Scott et al., The World in Monochromes (London, 2009), p. 41
Provenance: Probably R.H. Thornton of Croxted Road, Liverpool; Bluett & Sons, London, 9 March 1922, where purchased by A.L. Hetherington (1881-1960); Bluett & Sons, ‘The Hetherington Collection of Old Chinese Porcelain’, 1953, no. 8, where purchased (£35) by Miss Whittall of 14 Great Russell Street, London; Shirley Day Ltd., London; with John Sparks Ltd., London, from whom purchased by Bluett & Sons, 11 June 1991 and sold to Anthony du Boulay on the same day; Accepted in lieu of Inheritance tax by HM Government from the estate of Anthony du Boulay in 2024 and allocated to the Winchester College Treasury Museum.
Location: Treasury, Gallery 2
