China, Song (Sung) / Jin Dynasty (Jun Yao), ca. 12th to 13th century CE. Gorgeous shallow bowl in robin's egg blue with large purple splash on interior, foot left unglazed showing depth of the blue glaze surrounding it. Size: 6-1/2" diameter.

Jun ware (Wade–Giles: Chün) is a type of Chinese celadon. The use of straw ash in the glaze bestows its unique blue glaze suffused with white. The ware was created near Linru County in the province of Henan at the Jun kilns of Yuzhou City during the Northern Song dynasty (960–1126) to the Jin dynasty (1115–1234) and Yuan dynasty (1271–1368). The Jun glaze included blue-gray, sky-blue, moon-white, red and purple, with the most prized having crimson or purple splashes. Varying the temperature of the kilns changed color tints, a technique known as yaobian. Purple-splashed Jun bowls of this classic Northern Song shape are remarkable for their understated elegance, offset by splendid coloration displaying a range of blue and lavender tones.

Provenance: Estate of Paul and Louise Bernheimer, Cambridge, MA and Laguna Woods, CA - acquired before 1980.

Intact/choice.