Pear-shaped Bottle

Used primarily for serving wine during the Jin (1115-1234) and Yuan (1279-1368) dynasties, the distinctive form of pear-shaped bottles seem to have originated in eleventh century silver vessels which were imitated in ceramic at the Ding kilns of north China. The rare oil-spot glaze of this bottle was developed earlier at the Jian kilns in Fujian province during the Northern Song (960-1127). The dark brown-black glaze is covered with an oil-spot pattern comprised of numerous rust-brown spots each with a silvery metallic fleck in the center. After the first coat of glaze had dried, a solution rich in iron compounds was applied to create the desired silvery brown oil spots upon firing.