A SMALL RUSSET-SPLASHED 'HARE'S FUR' BOWL, SONG DYNASTY China, 960-1279. The bowl is covered with a thick and lustrous blackish-brown glaze suffused with russet 'hare's fur' streaks and accented with russet splashes, stopping neatly above the lower body and exposing the body of greyish-brown color with one thick glaze drop ending at the short foot ring. Provenance: E. W. Hendriks Oriental Art, Amsterdam. Dr. Koos de Jong, acquired from the above in 1996 (invoice not available). Dr. de Jong is a Dutch art historian and has been privately collecting Chinese art over decades. He has authored hundreds of articles and several books on Dutch fine and decorative arts spanning from the Middle Ages to the modern era. In 2013, he published an extensive study of Chinese riding gear in "Dragon & Horse, Saddle Rugs and Other Horse Tack from China and Beyond". Between 1976 and 2009 he worked for numerous museums across the Netherlands and was the director of the European Ceramic Work Center in Den Bosch. Condition: Excellent condition with some old wear and minor firing flaws. Weight: 103. 8 g Dimensions: Diameter 8 cm The bowl has rounded sides rising to a slightly incurved rim and is supported on a short ring foot. The superior quality of this remarkable bowl consists of the fascinating shades of the colors black, red, brown and green on the inside and the, entirely coincidental, symmetrical fan-shaped streamlining of the stripes on the outside. The bold russet splashes accenting the blackish-brown glaze on this piece are often referred to as zhegu ban, or 'partridge-feather mottles'. 'Hare's fur' tea bowls, much beloved by tea connoisseurs, were first made at the Jian kilns in Fujian in southern China. Following the Jin conquest of the north in 1127, such bowls became virtually unattainable as trade between northern and southern China diminished. Trying to tap into the lucrative market for these specialized dark-glazed wares, the Cizhou potters began to produce wares exhibiting their own version of this highly desirable glaze. Literature comparison: Priestley & Ferraro, London 2008, p. 4. R. Mowry, Hare's Fur, shell, and Partridge Feathers. Chinese brown- and blackglaze ceramics, 400-1400, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge (MA) 1996, no. 38 a-b, p. 143. Fire & Earth, Chinesische Fruehkeramik, Museum fuer Ostasiatische Kunst, Koeln 2008, no. 166, p. 207. 小褐色釉兔毫盞，宋代 中國，960-1279。小盞覆厚重黑色釉层，透出均匀细密的丝状筋脉条纹，圈足露出灰褐色胎體，一層厚厚的釉滴聚集在圈足上方。 來源：阿姆斯特丹E. W. Hendriks Oriental Art收藏。Drs. Koos de Jong 1996年購於上述收藏 (無發票)。Drs. Koos de Jong是一位荷蘭藝術史學家，幾十年來他一直私人收藏中國藝術品。他撰寫了數百篇文章和幾本書，內容涉及從中世紀到現代的荷蘭美術和裝飾藝術。2013年，他在《Dragon & Horse：Saddle Rugs and Other Horse Tack from China and Beyond》中發表了有關中國騎馬裝備的詳盡研究。1976年至2009年間，他曾在荷蘭的許多博物館工作，並曾擔任登博世歐洲陶瓷工作中心的主任。 品相：品相極好，一些老磨損，輕微燒製瑕疵。 重量：103. 8 克 尺寸：直徑8 厘米