A Chinese Cizhou-type ovoid tea bowl, Jin Dynasty (1115-1234), with lipped rim, five large russet splashes and a cloud of spots on the bluish-black glaze, the exterior exhibiting several coats of russet, brown and black, 7.8 cm high, 15.4 cm diameter. Reference: see Robert Mowry, Hare's fur, tortoiseshell, and Partridge Feathers: Chinese brown and black glazed Ceramics, 400-1,400, 1996, cat. No. 48, pp. 155-156, for a similar bowl with five less distinct splashes. Provenance: R. & V. Tregaskis, 24/4/2001