Kiln Background: The Painted Wares of the Jizhou Kilns
The Jizhou kilns, located in modern-day Ji'an, Jiangxi province, were one of the most creative folk kilns of the Southern Song period. While their dark-glazed wares like "leaf bowls" and papercut-resist bowls are world-renowned, their achievements in underglaze painted wares are equally significant. Jizhou's painted wares were heavily influenced by the Cizhou kilns of the north but developed their own simpler and more spontaneous style. Potters used vessels like bowls, plates, and vases as their medium, applying expressive brushstrokes to depict the vitality of the natural world, filling their work with the breath of life and a powerful artistic appeal.
Form and Craftsmanship
Measuring approximately 11 x 11 x 4.8 cm, this vessel is a classic hemispherical tea bowl, full-bodied and typical of the Song period.
Form: The bowl has a regular form with soft lines. The rim is dressed with a dark brown glaze, which provides a visual border and an elegant accent to the piece (IMG_6892.jpg).
The Base and Body: The base features a shallow, unglazed foot ring (IMG_6894.jpg). The exposed body is a buff-colored, slightly coarse stoneware containing fine sand particles, a classic feature of Jizhou products.
Decorative Art: Using Iron as Ink and the Bowl as Paper
The soul of this bowl lies in its decoration, which fully embodies the Chinese artistic concept that "calligraphy and painting share the same origin."
Underglaze Painting Technique: The potter used a mineral pigment rich in iron oxide to paint the design directly onto the unfired clay body. The entire piece was then covered in a transparent lime-based glaze and fired once at high temperature. After firing, the painted design is protected beneath the glaze, ensuring it will never wear away.
Interior Motif: The interior of the bowl (IMG_6891.jpg) is full of painterly charm. The center is decorated with a few deft brushstrokes depicting a clump of orchids with budding flowers. Above them, two insects (butterflies or moths) dance in the air, each with a different posture (IMG_6895.jpg). The painting is economical yet full of motion and a sense of space, creating a quiet and elegant scene.
Exterior Motif: The exterior of the bowl (IMG_6893.jpg, IMG_6897.jpg) is decorated with a simplified scrolling floral pattern. The brushwork is similarly swift and powerful, maintaining a high degree of stylistic unity with the interior decoration.
The Charm of the Ink Brush: An Analysis of a Southern Song Jizhou Ware Underglaze Painted 'Flower and Insect' Tea Bowl
Flower and Insect Tea Bowl
Era
Southern Song
Kiln
Jizhou kilns
Glaze
Mineral pigment
Transparent glaze
Mineral pigment
SIZE
4.8
x
11
x
11
CM
This Southern Song Jizhou ware underglaze painted tea bowl is a work of ceramic art brimming with the charm of ink painting and the vitality of the natural world. It eschews the dark, kiln-transmuted glazes for which Jizhou is most famous, instead using the plain ceramic body as a canvas and an iron-rich pigment as ink to paint a few deft strokes of flowers and insects, all sealed beneath a transparent glaze. The style is free and spontaneous, the brushwork is dynamic, and it perfectly translates the aesthetic tastes of Song Dynasty (960-1279 CE) literati ink painting onto a daily tea vessel, making it a precious example of the diverse production of the Jizhou kilns.
A Microscopic Glimpse: How Fire Breathes Life into "Ink"
Under high magnification, we can clearly see the marvelous transformation of the "ink" in the kiln's fire:
The Crystalline "Ink Marks": Micro-photographs (IMG_6904.jpg, IMG_6905.jpg, IMG_6908.jpg, IMG_6909.jpg) show that the painted iron-rich pigment is not a flat layer of color after firing. Instead, it has devitrified, precipitating micro-crystals with a metallic luster in dendritic or feathery patterns. It is these crystals that give the "ink marks" a rich texture and variations in tone and saturation, an effect far beyond what ordinary pigments could achieve.
Glaze and Body: Microscopic views of the glaze show that the transparent layer is relatively thin, with sparse bubbles. A microscopic view of the unglazed body (IMG_6910.jpg) confirms the classic coarse, ceramic structure of Jizhou ware, composed of quartz and other mineral particles.
Conclusion
This Southern Song Jizhou ware underglaze painted "flower and insect" bowl is a masterpiece that perfectly unites the art of painting with the craft of ceramics. The potter used the bowl as paper and the brush as a medium to instill the essence of Song literati painting—the capturing of natural vitality and the pursuit of expressive brushwork—into an object of daily use. Most marvelously, the transformative power of the kiln's fire breathed life into this "ink," giving it a rich and profound crystalline texture. This bowl is not only an important testament to the diverse production of the Jizhou kilns but is also a vivid microcosm of the elegant culture of the Song Dynasty.