A Jian black-glazed "Hare's Fur" bowl, Song dynasty.

On the base is a two-character signature 供御 (Gong yu) incised with a sharp tool on the unfired porcelain. It means "offering" and refers mainly to the meals of the emperor, empress or prince as a tribute to the court. 

A glazed ceramic bowl made of black ware with a thick glaze that ends before it reaches the base. The shape of the bowl is supported on a circular base and expands until it reaches the mouth, the rim of which opens slightly outwards to accommodate the fingers. The walls where the glaze is applied are slightly curved, and the glaze is therefore more concentrated around the walls and less concentrated on the rim. The colour is deep dark brown, almost black, with hare-skin tints.  

The Jianyao 建窑 kiln, located in Fujian Province, was known during the Song dynasty for making black-glazed teacups. This kiln was founded in the late Tang dynasty and continued for thousands of years. 

Height: 6 cm; Diameter: 12 - 12.20 cm; Weight: 245g

Provenance:

Private collection Turkey, Meltem Karabeyoglu.

Dr. Meltem Karabeyoglu is a Turkish born entrepreneur, author, philanthropist, lecturer and collector who is acknowledged for her deep and multi -dimensional knowledge and continuous presence in iraq over two decades. Dr. Karabeyoglu is the president of Karabeyoglu family enterprises, active in petroleum, mining and defence industries.