這件黑田家族舊藏的油滴天目茶碗是目前全世界範圍內除了三隻曜變天目茶碗之外，最有名，最引人注意的一隻天目茶碗。
傳世油滴天目的存世量遠比想像中的少，因此，並不是每一位藏家都能擁有。這不是勃艮第紅酒，只要花上幾十上百萬就能加入一個小圈子互相攀比；相反，擁有如此頂級的藏品的藏家應該是早就不混圈子，不攀比，並能承受寂寞和冷嘲熱諷的存在。
毫無疑問，在2016年用如此重金買下這件一流的藏品，對整個宋瓷品類、古代藝術收藏和當時的拍賣行業都有不可估量的正面影響。整個宋瓷的進程也因此突飛猛進了一次，這是藝術品自身所蘊含的能量的一次小的體現。
實際上這樣的茶碗，在黑田將軍的手中，想必早已經歷更加神聖和偉大的任務。任何一個藏家，僅僅是在保護，學習。宋瓷在這個時空，有如一位900歲的老人，呆若木雞，沈默不語。
「呆若木雞」的「木雞」指木製的雞，見於《莊子．達生》中，原是用來比喻訓練有素的鬥雞，在任何情況下都十分沉著，紋風不動。
值得注意的是，雖然此盞經歷安宅英一，臨宇山人，但是與其強大的歷史對比起來，並沒有因此留名，黑田家族依然是他的頭銜。
《宋代筆記 vol.35 西本願寺傳來 禾目天目茶碗 南宋時代 法國吉美博物館藏 - Heirloom Tenmoku of the Guimet Museum, from Japanese Temple Collection.》
成交價：美元 11,701,000
當時匯率計算：7800萬人民幣
2024年4月匯率計算：8541萬人民幣
8年變化 + 740萬人民幣，相當於每年增長100萬人民幣。
估價
美元 1,500,000 – 美元 2,500,000
拍品終止拍賣:
2016年9月15日
南宋 建窯「油滴天目」茶盌
於1935年12月18日登記為日本重要美術品；於2015年9月4日註銷該認定。
4 13/16 in. (12.2 cm.) diam., Japanese wood and lacquer boxes and a selection of other accessories
Registered in Japan as an Important Art Object on 18 December 1935; deregistered on 4 September 2015.
來源
黑田家收藏。
黑田長成（1867-1939）侯爵。
黑田長禮（1889-1978）侯爵。
安宅收藏。
出版
小山富士夫，《陶磁大系38天目》， 東京，1974年， 圖17及18。
日本經濟新聞社，《中国陶磁名品展 : 安宅コレクション》， 東京，1975年，編號59。
佳士得，《古韻天成：臨宇山人宋瓷珍藏展覽》，香港，2012 年，104-105頁，編號39。
蘇玫瑰，‘Chinese Classic Wares from a Japanese Collection: Song Ceramics from the Linyushanren Collection’, 《Arts of Asia》，2014年3月至4月，97-108頁，圖9。
展覽
日本經濟新聞社，東京日本橋三越百貨公司，《中国陶磁名品展：安宅コレクション》， 1975年9月。
拍品專文
箱書：
黑漆内箱蓋面書金粉字「油滴天目」。
桐木外箱蓋面簽條書「第一家寳」，墨書種類「茶椀」、番號「一」。
附屬品：
宋 褐漆盞托 圈足內及口內有兩處茶道家花押 。
明 金襴纏枝花卉紋錦囊。
綠地金花纏枝花卉昆蟲紋錦囊。
或為江戶時代初期 褐漆長方盒 。
疏星澹月：南宋建窯「油滴天目」茶盌
蘇玫瑰 亞洲藝術部資深學術顧問
宋代建窯黑釉茶盌是公認的典藏重器，這既得益於其外形美觀、工藝創新，亦可歸功於它豐富的茗茶文化內涵，更與這類華夏中古陶瓷在國際上的崇高地位有關。它們為東亞地區 (尤以日本為然) 的陶工提供了創作靈感，也是其後歐洲陶工師法的對象。是次拍賣的茶盌，便來自一批少如鳳毛麟角的珍罕建窯油滴釉盌。
福建北部的建窯黑陶，其胎色和質感均與華北窯口的製品迥然不同，與江西吉州窯的作品亦大相逕庭。尤須一提的是，由於建窯胎土高鐵，所以毋須在胎體釉下施一層高鐵瓷漿；雖然如此，各建窯遺址出土文物的胎質在成份上仍有若干區別。譬如，大路後門和營長乾窯址的胎質雖大同小異，但庵尾山窯的胎體卻存在若干差異，詳見馮向前等人合著的《建窯古瓷胎的產地和年代特徵的NAA和WDXRF分析研究》(www.researchgate.net/publication/290346851)。
建窯瓷器之美，與其釉料息息相關，建釉用1250至1350ºC窯燒而成，情形與華北黑釉大致相同，惟其氧化鋁略高，方能經受較高的爐溫。建釉含鐵量高達6%左右，但石灰釉的溶解上限約為5.5%，餘者一概析出。建釉外觀美不勝收，幕後功臣正是這種澱析作用。建釉為液相分離釉，而物相分離過程中釉內形成的小玻璃泡，可將多餘的鐵帶至釉面。在這個過程的初始階段，這些小泡產生了狀若茶葉末釉的斑駁效果。浮至釉面的小泡破裂後，形成所謂的油滴斑，破裂的小泡再隨盌壁垂流而下，呈現出筋脈狀的「兔毫」式條紋。多餘的氧化鐵微晶在冷卻過程中不斷增加，繼而產生更多的條紋，由於各種形態的氧化鐵呈色各異，其裝飾效亦千變萬化。
建釉最為人稱頌的是「兔毫紋」，英譯為「hare’s fur」，日文的說法是「禾目天目」，形容的正是呈色不一的氧化鐵沿盌壁垂流形成的細條紋。但建釉之中，遠以斑點為貴，條紋次之，因前者須準確拿捏釉料出現斑點的最佳時機，否則很快會因垂流而變成條紋。以建窯器物而言，較為罕見且備受推崇的斑點有三大類：其一為油滴紋，英文稱之為「oil spot」，日文名曰「yuteki」，其油滴紋璀璨斑斕，本拍品即為一例，觀之宛如星光璨爛的夜空。第二類讓人讚嘆不絕的是「曜變」紋，日文為「曜変」(意謂光彩奪目的窯變)。此類釉斑雖顏色黝黯，但有虹彩輝斑。第三類建釉斑點在黑地上裝飾白點，北宋詩人曾以「兔褐甌心雪作泓」詠之。至於諸多文獻提到的「鷓鴣斑」，究竟是指第三類斑點或油滴紋，學者迄今仍莫衷一是。中國至少有七類鷓鴣，其翎羽斑紋各不相同，故難以引證文獻所指為何，或各種說法是否並行不悖。但武佩聖 (Marshall P.S. Wu) 曾指出，中華鷓鴣的羽色與白斑均與建釉類似，詳見武氏於1998年4月《Orientations》發表的論文卷29刊號4頁29。但相比之下，油滴紋較細膩斑斕，也更容易使人聯想起翎羽之美。
為了研究建窯釉料，來自法國 (Catherine Dejoie、Philippe Sciau和Laure Noé)、中國 (李偉東、陳凱、羅宏傑和劉志) 及美國 (Apurva Mehta、Martin Kunz和田村信道) 的科學家曾組成一支國際團隊，他們採用各式各樣的調研技術，如光學顯微鏡、電子顯微鏡、拉曼光譜學和同步輻射X射線等技術，其成果發表於，全文載於2014年的《Scientific Reports》(文章號：4:4941; doi:10.1038/srep04941)。根據此前的研究，使建窯兔毫釉呈條紋狀的氧化鐵為赤鐵礦 (α-Fe2O3)，而油滴斑中的鐵析晶則是磁鐵礦 (Fe3O4)。但讓2014年科學專家小組大感意外的是，油滴釉內的析晶其實是高純度的ε-Fe2O3 晶體 (ε相)，此乃極為罕見的亞穩態赤鐵礦。(建窯兔毫釉中少量的ε-Fe2O3與赤鐵礦晶相共存。) 這項關於油滴釉的發現意義重大，因為科學家於1934年首度發現這種ε相晶體，其晶體結構要到1995年始為人所知，自2005年起方有明確表徵。此類物質在現代社會有極高的應用價值，但事實證明其製備難度極大，因為實驗室只能得出納米尺度且含雜相的ε-Fe2O3 晶體。建窯油滴斑中的ε相晶體，呎吋和純度均遠勝於現代技術的成果。事實再次證明，宋代陶工駕馭材質的能力確是爐火純青。
傳為陶穀所撰的《清異錄》(著於宋初960至970年間) 曾提到，福建茶盌備受鑑藏家青睞，其釉色近似鷓鴣斑。這筆直接論及建窯器物的記載，意味着其燒造年代可上溯至公元十世紀。這一斷代的另一項佐證，來自1977年蘆花坪黑釉建窯遺址正下方出土的五代青釉窯址，詳見曾凡著《福建陶瓷的歷史》，全文載於中國陶瓷編輯委員會編撰的《中國陶瓷：福建陶瓷》第五章 (上海：1988)。但燒造建窯茶碗的巔峰時期，應是北宋中葉至南宋中葉期間。雖然此前黑釉在中國流行已久，但唐代之前，作品的呈色和光澤皆未臻上乘。這是因為早期釉料的石灰含量高，其氧化鐵容限只有3-4%，而上等黑釉所需的下限卻是6%。但至唐代，華中出現了一種用黏土 (高鐵但含多種高溫助熔劑) 製成的底釉，其石灰含量較低，釉中的石灰鹼比例較為均衡。於是，黝黑光潤的釉料應運而生，為宋代華北與華南窯口發展極品黑釉創造了優厚的條件。
這類器物大行其道，固然可歸功於優質黑釉的誕生。但其實尚有諸多因素，造就了黑釉佳器的興起，其中之一便是宋代茶文化的變遷。當時，品茗之風遍及大江南北及菁英階層。人們常以茶待客，更不時舉行茶宴，這既是尋常的社交酬酢，更是品茗和展示茶藝功力的場合 (圖一)。文人士大夫多熱衷於以茶會友，連歷朝皇帝亦不例外。以品味高雅著稱的北宋徽宗 (公元1101-25年在位) 即深諳此道，並於1107年刊行其撰著的二十篇《大觀茶論》。
時至宋代，採茶後的加工方式更注重研磨工序，以及提煉和去除多餘茶汁的方法，當時多用水磨碾成極細的茶粉，再以茶筅點攪成湯，這一過程亦推動了鬥茶之風。泡茶時，人們先從茶餅刮下茶葉，置於盤內用微火烘炙，研磨成粉後過篩，以確保茶粉甘滑。然後用沸水烘盌，盌內放入少量茶粉，加入些許開水調成糊狀。繼之用細長流湯瓶注水，流速有力且徐急適中，再用竹筅在茶面拂擊出清淺湯花。誰打出的湯花最多且久聚不散，即為優勝者。有見及此，黑釉茶盌堪稱上選，因為擊拂後泛起的白色茶沫在黑釉映襯下益發鮮明。因此，宋代多個窯口 (如河北定窯) 皆有燒造黑釉茶盌，但文獻中最推崇備至的依然是福建建盞。
北宋著名書法家和鑑茶家蔡襄 (公元1012-1067年) 曾在福建任官, 其1060年刊著的《茶錄》說道：「茶色白，宜黑盞，建安所造者紺黑， 紋如兔毫，其坯微厚，熁之久熱難冷，最為要用。」據福建蔡絛在其筆記《鐵圍山叢談》卷六憶述：「父君謨[即其伯父蔡襄]嘗得茶甌十，兔毫四散，其中凝作蛺蝶狀，熟視若生動，每寶惜之。」福建茶貴為茶中上品， 蔡京可謂功不可沒，因為他正是監造小龍團貢茶的功臣。
宋代文人著述中，關於建盞的敘述俯拾皆是。黃庭堅 (公元1045-1105年) 以書法成就名列「宋四家」，此外亦是詩人、畫家和朝廷命官。他多次在文中提到福建茶盞，其《滿庭芳》云：「研膏濺乳，金縷鷓鴣斑」。他在《和答梅子明王揚休點密雲龍》一詩中，對建盞的讚美更為直白：「建安甌碗鷓鴣斑，谷簾水與月共色。」
徽宗的《大觀茶論》也對福建黑釉茶盞讚譽有加，現存文獻多次提到，徽宗數度為愛卿泡茶，以示皇恩，席間所用當為建盞。其一是政和二年 (公元1112年) 三月在太清樓特為蔡京 (公元1047-1126年，上文蔡絛之父) 設宴，席間徽宗所泡的是福建進貢的新茶，配以惠山泉水和[建窯]兔毫盞。蔡京還記述了兩次類似的御宴，一場於宣和元年 (公元1119年) 在保和殿舉行，徽宗當時也有親自點茶。據蔡京憶述，第三場宴席於宣和二年 (公元1120年) 在延福宮舉行。他形容盞內乳白湯花如「疏星澹月」，描寫的或為建窯油滴盞襯托之下的茶沫。
2012年，浙江杭州南宋宮殿遺址附近出土一件破損的珍罕曜變釉建窯盌， 進一步證實了南宋宮廷已有使用建盞的說法，圖見《国宝曜変天目茶碗と日本の美》頁192圖1-3 (福岡市藝術博物館，2015)。顯然，建窯確曾燒造宋代皇帝專用的茶盌。窯燒前，部份建盞還在器底落款，當中有單字款，也有燒造者或物主的名號，此外也有數字款或幾何圖形 (或許是作坊標識)。值得一提的是，考古學家還發現了一批圈足內印「進琖」及外底刻「供御」款的茶盞。耐人尋味的是款識中出現的「琖」字，誠如武佩聖所言，「琖」原指小巧的玉盃，由此可見，此類陶瓷在宋代是何等彌足珍貴 (詳見武佩聖前述著作頁25)。頗堪玩味的是，北京故宮尚珍藏一例「大宋明道」款建窯盌，「明道」正是北宋仁宗 (公元1022-1063年在位) 的年號，圖見《故宮博物院藏文物珍品大系33：兩宋瓷器 (下)》頁223編號205 (香港：1996)。
誠如本圖錄的序言所述，日本禪僧曾於宋代到浙江杭州以西臨安縣的天目山習佛，該地以二湖勝景 (峰頂二池狀若雙目，故名)、參天雪松和飛瀑流泉而馳名，日本僧侶也因緣際會得識建盞之美。該地在燒造建盞的窯址以北，天目山僧人喫茶皆用其製品。建盞流入日本後，深為茶道宗師推崇， 對日本茶道儀式的風格嬗變影響至深。
除建窯盌之外，本拍品尚配一個黑漆盒，「油滴天目」金漆四字筆意瀟灑，外套木箱光素無紋。此外還有一個題有日本茶道宗師名號的宋代漆製盞托，另附二束繩緞袋，每個配件俱屬珍品。當中又以黃金二色緞袋最引人入勝。這類小袋日文稱為「仕覆」，用來包覆茶道儀式中的茶罐， 常用於收納貴重茶盌。茶道宗師則稱之為「名物裂」，也常以地名或與之相關的名人命名。名物裂亦可用作茶道儀式中包覆物品的「袱紗」或卷軸裱褙。十四至十八世紀從中國進口的紡織品尤為罕貴。它們或是訪華僧人帶回日本的袈裟，或通過貿易流入日本。久而久之，連這些古代中國織繡品的布片亦被視為上品，有時更用作著名將領的服飾。製作仕覆的中國紡織品之中，最珍貴者日文稱之為「金襴」，而中文的常見說法是「金錦」。它們是用銀線和金屬線織成的彩織，其金色 (或銀色) 圖案多用黃金與紙芯捻成的線織成。本茶盌所附的金黃小包，看來正是用金襴或金錦製成。 它的絲線很可能是明代晚期中國江南地區的製品。無獨有偶，日本茶道名師小堀遠州 (公元1579-1647年) 在此期間也迷上了進口紡織品， 並將之與茶道儀式加以糅合。(2014年京都國立博物館舉辦的「袈裟と名物裂：舶載された染織」展覽亦曾探討這一重要課題)。日本茶道宗師小堀宗慶 (1923-2011) 的著作《文竜名物裂鑑金銀襴》(婦女界出版社：東京，1986) 頁22編號3所示的金襴或金錦圖紋，即與本拍品所附小袋的紡織品大同小異。本建窯盌所配的綠金二色金襴仕覆，可能亦屬於明末製品。此綠金仕覆的圖案，十分接近中國保存的一幅明代纏枝花卉蜜蜂圖雙面紅黃緞，圖見高漢玉等合編 (蘇玫瑰及魏泓英譯本) 的《中國歷代織染繡圖錄》頁98編號74 (倫敦：1986)，以及同一卷著作頁103編號81載錄的明代紅綺。
是次拍賣的建窯盌系出名門，在納入臨宇山人珍藏之前，曾經是黑田家族和安宅舊藏。黑田一支發源於播磨國，先後為織田及豐臣家族效力。黑田孝高 (1547-1604年) 因出任謀臣有功，1587年獲封中津城。黑田家族與茶道之淵源可追溯至黑田孝高，他其後遵豊臣秀吉 (1536-98年) 之命退出天主教，並易名黑田如水。黑田孝高既是豊臣秀吉的得力軍師，也是茶聖千利休 (1522-1591年) 的好友，並親自撰文闡述茶道。本油滴釉建窯盌在黑田家族代代相傳，其文獻記錄可追溯至黑田長知 (1835-1902) 的長子黑田長成侯爵 (1867-1939) 生前。黑田長成於1878年繼承家督之位，1884 年襲侯爵封號，同年赴笈英倫入讀劍橋大學。他於1889年學成歸國，旋即出任宮內省式部官，但1890年請辭。1892年，他加入貴族院，1894年擢升副議長，此後出任此職多年。1924年，他受命加入樞密院。黑田長成侯爵更是一名傑出的書法家，醉心研究中日詩歌。他的兒子黑田長禮 (1889- 1978年) 繼承了是次拍賣的油滴釉建窯盌，他本身也是一位著名的鳥類學家。1935年12月18日，此盞被認定為重要美術品，據日本文部省1943年頒佈的重要美術品名冊所示，它當時的主人是第十四代黑田家督黑田長禮。時至1970年代中期，此盞已納入著名的安宅珍藏，並多次見諸發表。應現藏家要求該盌於2015年取消重要美術品認定。
這件珍罕茶盌來源顯赫，且配件精奇，它代表了日本陶瓷鑑藏史、茶道史乃至中國宋代陶瓷史的一個重要篇章。與此同時，它亦展現了名窯佳器的絕代風姿。
THE KURODA FAMILY YUTEKI TENMOKU A HIGHLY IMPORTANT AND VERY RARE ‘OIL SPOT’ JIAN TEA BOWL
SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY (1127-1279)
Price realised USD 11,701,000
Estimate
USD 1,500,000 – USD 2,500,000
Closed: 15 Sep 2016
THE KURODA FAMILY YUTEKI TENMOKU
A HIGHLY IMPORTANT AND VERY RARE ‘OIL SPOT’ JIAN TEA BOWL
SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY (1127-1279)
The deep, rounded sides are covered inside and out with a thick iridescent black glaze suffused with a dense pattern of variegated iridescent ‘oil spots’, stopping in an irregular line and pooling above the foot, exposing the blackish-brown body. The mouth rim is mounted with a metal band.
4 13/16 in. (12.2 cm.) diam., Japanese wood and lacquer boxes and a selection of other accessories
Registered in Japan as an Important Art Object on 18 December 1935; deregistered on 4 September 2015.
PROVENANCE
The Kuroda Family Collection.
The Marquis Kuroda Nagashige (1867-1939).
The Marquis Kuroda Nagamichi (1889-1978).
The Ataka Collection.
LITERATURE
Koyama Fujio, Toji taikei (Compendium of Ceramics), vol. 38: tenmoku, Tokyo, 1974, pl. 17 & 18.
Nihon Keizai Shinbunsha, Ataka korekushon: chugoku toji meihin ten (Masterpieces of Old Chinese Ceramics from Ataka Collection), Tokyo, 1975, no. 59.
Christie’s, The Classical Age of Chinese Ceramics: An Exhibition of Song Treasures from the Linyushanren Collection, Hong Kong, 2012, pp. 104-105, no. 39.
Rosemary Scott, ‘Chinese Classic Wares from a Japanese Collection: Song Ceramics from the Linyushanren Collection’, Arts of Asia, March-April 2014, pp. 97-108, fig. 9.
EXHIBITED
Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Tokyo Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Department Store, Ataka korekushon: chugoku toji meihin ten (Masterpieces of Old Chinese Ceramics from Ataka Collection), September 1975.
Box Inscription:
"Yuteki Tenmoku" is inscribed in gold lacquer on the cover of the black lacquer inner box.
"Foremost family heirloom", "Tea bowl", "One" written on a paper slip on the cover of wood box.
Accessories:
Song Dynasty Brown lacquer circular bowl stand, zhantuo, inscribed inside the foot and the mouth with tea master's mon.
Ming Dynasty Yellow and gold brocade silk, kinran, pouch.
Green and gold brocade silk pouch.
Gilt-metal-decorated brown lacquer box, probably early Edo period.
STARS IN THE NIGHT SKY – A RARE AND PRECIOUS JIAN WARE TEA BOWL
Rosemary Scott, International Academic Director Asian Art
The dark-glazed tea bowls made at the Jian kilns in the Song dynasty are important not only for their beauty and technical innovation, as well as for what they tell us about tea culture, but also because they are amongst the most internationally influential ceramics of medieval China. They provided inspiration for potters elsewhere in East Asia – notably Japan – and also, in later years, inspiration for potters in Europe. The current bowl is one of a small group of Jian wares with an especially fine and rare ‘oil spot’ glaze.
The black-glazed stonewares made at the Jian kilns in northern Fujian province differ from those made at the kilns in north China, and indeed those made at the Jizhou kilns of Jiangxi province, in the colour and texture of their clay body. Significantly, the Jian ware body has high iron content, which obviated the necessity to use an iron rich slip on the body under the glaze, although there are other compositional differences between the bodies found at the various Jian ware kilns. For example, while those of the Daluhoumen and Yingzhangqian kilns were similar, the body at the Anweishan kiln exhibited some differences (see Feng Xiangqian, et al., ‘Provenance and dating study on Jianyao Kiln porcelain bodies using NAA and WDXRF’, www.researchgate.net/ publication/290346851).
The great beauty of Jian wares lies in their glazes, which are fired between 1250-1350ºC, and are largely similar to those of the northern black wares, but with a little more alumina to cope with the higher firing temperatures. The glaze is overloaded with iron - c. 6%, while the maximum that a lime-based glaze can dissolve is c. 5.5% - and the excess precipitates out. It is this precipitation which creates the stunning visual effects in the glazes. The Jian glazes are also liquid-liquid phase separated glazes and the formation of little glass droplets in the glaze during phase separation helps to carry the excess iron to the surface. At the early stage of this process the droplets appear as tiny flecks giving the speckled appearance of a ‘tea dust’ glaze. As the droplets move to the surface and burst they produce the effect known as ‘oil-spot’ and then, if the glaze is allowed to run, it carries the burst droplets with it the effect of streaking that is known as ‘hare’s fur’ is produced. The streaking is enhanced by the growth of micro crystals in the excess iron oxide during cooling, and the varied colours of the different states of iron oxide create the decorative effects.
The best known of the Jian ware glaze effects, where different colours of iron oxide provides delicate streaks running down the sides of the tea bowls, is usually known as ‘hare’s fur’ in English, tu hao wen in Chinese, and nogime temmoku in Japanese. Much rarer are the glaze effects with spots, rather than streaks, and which required catching the glaze at the point when the optimum spotting was achieved, but before the glaze ran and created streaking. There are three rare and particularly prized spotted glaze effects associated with Jian wares. The one known as ‘oil spot’ in English, yuteki , literally ‘oil drop’ in Japanese, Chinese pinyin youdi, has shimmering iridescent spots, as on the current bowl, which resemble clusters of stars against the night sky. Another spectacular spotted Jian glaze is known as Yohen literally ‘brilliant [kiln] transmutation’ in Japanese, and in Chinese yaobian. In this glaze effect the spots themselves are dark but have iridescent halos. The third spotted Jian ware glaze has dense white spots on the dark glaze, which were described by one Northern Song poet as looking like melting snow on dark water. There is debate amongst scholars as to whether this latter glaze or the ‘oil spot’ glaze is the one referred to in various historical texts as zhegu ‘partridge [feather]’. There are at least seven different types of partridge in China with different markings, so it is difficult to be sure which the authors of historical texts had in mind, and indeed whether they are consistent. However, Wu has pointed out that the Chinese Francolin Partridge has markings similar to the Jian glazes with white spots (Marshall P.S. Wu, ‘Black-glazed Jian Ware and Tea Drinking in the Song Dynasty’, Orientations, vol. 29, no. 4, April 1998, p. 29). Nevertheless, the ‘oil spot’ glaze is more delicate and iridescent, and perhaps better evokes the appearance of feathers.
An international team comprised of scientists from France (Catherine Dejoie, Philippe Sciau and Laure Noé), the People’s Republic of China (Li Weidong, Chen Kai, Luo Hongjie and Liu Zhi), and the US (Apurva Mehta, Martin Kunz and Tamura Nobumichi) undertook a study of Jian ware glazes using a wide range of investigative techniques - including optical microscopy, electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and synchroton x-ray techniques, which was published in 2014 as ‘Learning from the Past: Rare e-Fe2O3 in the ancient black-glazed Jian (Tenmoku) wares’, in Scientific Reports 4:4941; doi:10.1038/srep04941. Previous studies had concluded that the iron oxides which provided the streaks in the Jian ‘hare’s fur’ glaze were hematite (a-Fe2O3), and that the crystallized iron in the shining silver spots on the ‘oil spot’ glaze were magnetite (Fe3O4). The scientists in the 2014 study were astonished to find that the crystals in the ‘oil spot’ glaze were in fact remarkably pure e-Fe2O3 phase (the epsilon phase), a very rare and metastable relative of hematite. (Smaller quantities of e-Fe2O3 were found in the Jian ‘hare’s fur’ glaze, but these were mixed with hematite.) The find in relation to ‘oil spot’ glazes is remarkable, not least because this epsilon phase was only identified by scientists in 1934, while its crystalline structure has only been known since 1995, and only understood since 2005. It is a material that has important applications in the modern world, but it has proved very hard to make in laboratories – the crystals produced there being very small and contaminated by other phases. The epsilon phase crystals in the Jian ‘oil spots’ are not only significantly larger than those produced by modern methods, but are also exceptionally pure. Once again, the Song dynasty potters have been shown to be masters of their materials.
In the Qingyi Lu, attributed to Tao Gu and written sometime between 960 and 970, right at the beginning of the Song dynasty, the author notes that tea bowls from Fujian were particularly treasured by connoisseurs, and have glazes resembling the spots of partridge feathers. This would seem to be a direct reference to Jian wares and suggests that they were produced as early as the 10th century. This early date is further suggested by the excavations undertaken at the Jian ware kiln site of Luhuaping in 1977, when the remains of a Five Dynasties kiln producing celadon wares was discovered directly beneath the black wares kiln (see Zeng Fan, ‘Fujian Taoci de Lishi’, appendix to Zhongguo Taoci Bianji Weiyuanhui, Fujian Taoci, Zhongguo Taoci, Shanghai, 1988, section 5). However, the high-point of production for Jian ware tea bowls appears to have been the period between the mid-Northern Song and the mid- Southern Song dynasty. Although black glazes had long been popular in China, prior to the Tang dynasty none displayed the intensity of colour or the glossiness of the finest wares. This was due to the fact that the early glazes were high-lime, and such glazes could not support more than 3-4% of iron oxide, while 6% was required for a good black glaze. In the Tang dynasty, however, a base glaze that was lower in lime, and nearer to a balanced lime-alkali glaze was produced in central China using clays, which were iron-rich but contained a wide range of high-temperature fluxes. This allowed the production of deep, glossy black glazes, which provided the foundation for development of the exceptional black glazes in both north and south China during the Song dynasty.
The reason for the popularity of such wares was not simply that black glazes were at last successfully fired. Other factors also made fine black-glazed wares desirable. These included changes in tea culture in China which took place in the Song dynasty. During this time the popularity of drinking tea spread both geographically within China, and to elite social groups. It became customary to offer tea to guests, and tea parties were regularly held, not only for normal social intercourse, but also to embark on tea-tastings, and to demonstrate expertise in tea preparation. This became very popular with the scholar-official class, and even with emperors. (Fig. 1) The Northern Song Emperor Huizong (r. 1101-25), who was famous for his refined tastes, was a great connoisseur of tea and even wrote a twenty-chapter treatise entitled Da Guan Cha Lun (Discourses on Tea), published in 1107.
The processing of the picked tea leaves changed in the Song dynasty, with new emphasis on purification and the removal of any extra tea juices, as well as grinding, using water driven mills to produce a particularly fine tea powder. This fine powdered tea was prepared for drinking using the whipping method, which in turn led to the popularity of tea preparation contests. Some tea would be scraped off the pressed cake of tea. It would be carefully dried in a pan and ground and sieved to ensure the fineness of the resulting powder. The tea bowl would be warmed with boiling water. A small amount of tea would be put in the tea bowl with a very small amount of boiling water and mixed into a paste. More water would then be added from a ewer with a long narrow spout in a controlled, strong flow and the mixture would be whisked with a bamboo whisk to obtain a pale froth on the surface. The person who was able to produce the richest froth, which lasted longest was adjudged the most skillful. Tea bowls with dark-coloured glazes were thus especially desirable since the pale froth of the whipped tea was shown to best advantage against a contrasting glaze. Black-glazed tea bowls were therefore made at a number of kilns in the Song dynasty, including the Ding kilns of Hebei province, but the bowls most frequently praised in historical texts were those from the Jian kilns of Fujian province.
Cai Xiang (1012-1067), who was a famous Northern Song calligrapher and government official in Fujian, as well as a connoisseur of tea, noted in his Cha Lu (Records of Tea), published in 1060, that:
‘The white froth stands out best in a black tea bowl. Tea bowls made in Jian’an were glazed black and with streaks resembling hare’s fur. Their body is slightly thicker than normal, and retains the heat for a long time. Hence they are the most suitable.’
Cai Tao, who also came from Fujian, said of his uncle Junmo (Cai Xiang) that the latter had ten tea bowls, four having hare’s fur glazes, which he thought produced an effect resembling butterflies’ wings, and which Cai Xiang greatly prized (see Cai Tao’s biji , entitled Tieweishan congtan , vol. 6). It was partly the influence of Cai Xiang that resulted in tea from Fujian being recognised as the finest quality tea, since he initiated the production of the superb small Dragon Tribute cakes of tea.
There are many references to Jian ware tea bowls in the writings of Song dynasty literati. Huang Tingjian (1045-1105), one of the four great calligraphers of the Song dynasty, who was also a poet, painter and government official, alludes to them in several works. These include Manting Fan, which contains the lines: yan gao jian ru, jin lü zhegu ban,
‘The whisked milk-like froth [of the tea], [reveals] the golden wisps of partridge [feather] speckles’. While the reference to Jian wares is made even clearer in Huang Tingjian’s Heda Mei Ziming Wang Yangxiu dian Miyunlong, which includes the lines: Jian’an ciwan zhegu ban, Gulian shui yu yue gong se,
‘In the Jian’an ware bowls with partridge [feather] speckles, the water from Gulian shares the same colours as the moon’.
Emperor Huizong also recorded a particular appreciation of black tea bowls from Fujian in his Da Guan Cha Lun, and there are several surviving references to the emperor personally preparing tea for selected ministers, as a special mark of favour, apparently using Jian ware tea bowls. One such occasion took place in the third month of the second year of the Zhenghe reign (1112) at a special banquet in the Taiqing tower to honour Cai Jing (1047-1126 - father of Cai Tao, mentioned above). On this occasion the emperor used the finest tea, recently sent as tribute from Fujian, prepared it with Huishan spring water, and served it in tea bowls with fur-like glaze [Jian ware]. Cai Jing records two more such imperial banquets – one of these took place in the first year of the Xuanhe reign (1119) in the Baohe Hall, when again the emperor prepared the tea himself. The third occasion recounted by Cai Jing took place in the second year of the Xuanhe reign (1120) during a banquet in the Yanfu Palace. Cai Jing described the appearance of the white froth in the tea bowl and uses the phrase ‘scattered stars and a tranquil moon’ , which could describe the froth on the surface of the tea against an ‘oil spot’ Jian ware glaze.
That Jian ware tea bowls were also used at the court of the Southern Song emperors appears to have been confirmed by the discovery in 2012 of a damaged Jian ware tea bowl with rare yohen glaze near the site of the Southern Song palace at Hangzhou, Zhejiang province (illustrated in Treasures of the Fujita Museum: The Japanese Conception of Beauty , Fukuoka City Art Museum, 2015, p. 192, figs. 1-3). It seems clear that some tea bowls made at the Jian kilns were specifically made for the Song emperors. Certain inscriptions were applied to the base of Jian tea bowls before firing. Some of these are single characters, and may refer to the maker or the prospective owner of the bowl, some are numbers and some appear to be geometric marks – perhaps indicating a particular workshop. Importantly archaeologists have found bowls which had the characters jin zhan ‘bowl for presentation [to the emperor]’ impressed into the exterior base within the foot ring, while others had the characters gong yu ‘for imperial use’ incised into the exterior base. It may be significant that the character zhan was used on these Jian ware tea bowls, since, as Wu has noted, the character originally referred to small jade cups and provides an indication of the high regard in which these ceramic vessels were held in the Song period (Marshall P.S. Wu, op. cit., p. 25). Interestingly, the Palace Museum, Beijing, has in its collection a Jian ware bowl which bears the inscription Da Song Mingdao, which refers to the Mingdao reign (1032-1033) of the Northern Song Emperor Renzon (1022-1063), (illustrated in Porcelain of the Song Dynasty (II), The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum – 33 – Hong Kong, 1996, p. 223, no. 205).
As noted in the introductory essay to this catalogue, Japanese Zen Buddhist monks encountered Jian ware bowls during the Song dynasty when they visited Chan Buddhist monasteries in the beautiful Tianmu mountain area of Lin’an county, west of Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, known for the two lakes which give it its name Tianmu ‘eyes of heaven’, and for its magnificent cedar trees and waterfalls. This area was just north of the kilns producing Jian ware bowls, which were used by the monks in the monasteries of the Tianmushan area for drinking tea. (fig. 2) On reaching Japan these bowls became highly prized by certain Japanese tea masters, and made a significant contribution to the development of styles within the Japanese tea ceremony.
In addition to the Jian ware bowl itself, the current lot includes a black-lacquered box with beautifully-written gold lacquer inscription reading: Yoteki Tenmoku , and a plain wooden inner box. In addition, there is a lacquered Song dynasty bowl stand bearing the kaou of a Japanese tea master, and two silk draw-string pouches – all of which are themselves important objects. (Fig. 3) The yellow and metallic-gold brocade draw-string pouch is of particular interest. Such pouches, known as shifuku , were made in Japan for tea containers and particularly precious tea bowls used in the tea ceremony. The famous tea masters chose to use meibutsugire ‘celebrated textiles’ for these pouches, and often the items came to be known by the name of the place or famous person with whom they were associated. These meibutsugire were also used for the fukusa small cloth wrappers used in the tea ceremony, and for mounting hanging scrolls. Among the most valued textiles were those imported from China in period from the 14th to the 18th century. These textiles entered Japan either as kasaya (Buddhist clerical robes) brought back by monks returning to Japan from China, or as part of Sino-Japanese trade. As time went on even the smallest fragment of these historical Chinese textiles was treasured and might be used, for example, to embellish the robe of an important person from the military class. The most prized of all the Chinese textiles used for shifuku were those known as kinran ‘gold robe’ in Japanese, but more often referred to in Chinese as jinjin‘gold brocade’. This was often a lampas weave in silk and metallic thread, which had a gold (or silver) design, usually produced by incorporating gold applied to fine strips of paper. It is this kinran/jinjin which appears to have been used to make the yellow and gold pouch for the current tea bowl. The silk was probably woven in the Jiangnan region of southern China in the latter years of the Ming dynasty. This coincided with the period when the famous Japanese tea master Kobori Enshu (1579-1647) became fascinated with imported textiles and introduced them into the tea ceremony. (In 2014 the Kyoto National Museum held an exhibition entitled: Luxurious Imported Textiles: Buddhist Robes and Meibutsugire, which examined this important subject.) A kinran/jinjin of very similar design to the textile used for the current pouch is illustrated by the tea master Kobori Sokei (1923-2011) in Monryo Meibutsugire kagami Kinginran, Fujokai Shuppansha, Tokyo, 1986, p. 22, no. 3. The current Jian ware tea bowl is also accompanied by a green and golden-coloured kinran shifuku, which may also date to the late Ming dynasty. The design on the fabric of the green and gold pouch is very similar to that on a Ming dynasty reversible red and yellow duan (damask) with a mixed flower scroll and bees preserved in China and illustrated by Gao Hanyu, et al., in Chinese Textile Designs, (R. Scott and S. Whitfield translators), London, 1986, p. 98, no. 74, and a red Ming dynasty qi, illustrated in the same volume, p.103, The current Jian ware tea bowl has a most illustrious history – belonging to the Kuroda Family Collection and the Ataka Collection before entering the Linyushanren Collection.
The Kuroda clan originated in Harima Province , and served first the Ota and then the Toyotomi clans. For his service as a strategist, Kuroda Yoshitaka (1546-1604) was granted the lordship of Nakatsu Castle in 1587. The Kuroda Clan’s involvement with the tea ceremony can be traced back to Kuroda Yoshitaka, who was also known as Kuroda Josui, after he renounced his Christian affiliations and name on the orders of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536- 98) in 1587. Not only was Kuroda Yoshitaka the chief strategist to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, he also became a friend of the famous tea master Sen no Rikyu (1522-1591), and wrote a treatise on the principles of tea. The current ‘oil spot’ Jian tea bowl has been handed down through the Kuroda family and contemporary documentation goes back to Marquis Kuroda Nagashige (1867- 1939), who was the first son of Kuroda Nagatomo (1835-1902). In 1878 Kuroda Nagashige succeeded as head of the family, and in 1884 he became a koshaku (marquis) and in the same year went to Britain to study at Cambridge University. After his return home in 1889, he became an officer of the Imperial Household Ministry, but resigned in 1890. In 1892 he entered the Kizoku-in (House of Peers), becoming its vice-chairman in 1894 – a position he held for many years. In 1924 he was appointed to the Sumitsu-in (Privy Council). Marquis Kuroda Nagashige was also a noted calligrapher, with an interest in both Chinese and Japanese poetry. The current ‘oil spot’ Jian ware bowl was inherited by his son Marquis Kuroda Nagamichi (1889-1978), a well-known ornithologist. This tea bowl had been registered in Japan as an Important Art Object on 18 December 1935, and the List of Important Art Objects published by the Japanese Ministry of Culture in 1943, notes that, at that time, the bowl belonged to the 14th head of the Kuroda clan, Marquis Kuroda Nagamichi. By the mid-1970s the tea bowl had entered the famous Ataka Collection, and was published on a number of occasions. In 2015 it was deregistered at the request of the current owner.
This rare bowl with its illustrious history and remarkable accoutrements is an important part of the history of Chinese Song dynasty ceramics and the development of tea drinking in China, as well as the history of ceramic appreciation and the tea ceremony in Japan. It is also a vessel of consummate beauty.