Ashmolean Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

This bowl was made in imitation of the popular ‘hare’s fur’ tea bowls of Fujian province. Its potting, shape and light-coloured body which is hidden under a dark dressing, all differ from the Fujian examples and suggest a Northern provenance, more or less contemporary with the Southern originals.

The deep, conical bowl curves in at the rim and rests on a splayed, nearly solid foot with concave base. It is heavily potted, with a fairly wide flat centre inside, and covered with a glossy black glaze, suffused with brown ‘hare’s fur’ markings near the rim, and forming very thick, glassy black drops above the foot. The unglazed area has been dressed in brown and shows overall lime adhesions from burial.