The workshops at Jizhou produced a variety of ceramics for such a relatively small number of kilns. Jizhou wares were first made in the Tang period (618-906), though they reached their height of production (both volume- and quality-wise) during the Song period (960-1279). Sometime in the fourteenth century, the region was struck by an as of yet unidentified natural disaster, which brought an end to ceramics production at Jizhou.¹

Though the ritual of the tea ceremony is most closely associated with Japan, its origins lie in China. Tea drinking first became popular in China during the Tang period, and by the mid-Song the custom of tea drinking as a social ceremony was well established. Tea bowls became some of the most prized treasures of tea afficionados, and this appreciation for tea wares was exported along with the tea ceremony itself to Japan, largely by Japanese priests who traveled to the continent in order to study with Chinese Buddhists monks and scholars.

The brownish spots and streaks that developed in the black glaze of Jizhou wares were greatly appreciated by connoisseurs, and were given such names as "rabbits fur" and, in the case of this bowl, "heavenly dots," or temmoku in Japanese. The unusual interior pattern was accomplished by applying an actual leaf to the inside of the bowl. The leaf would burn away during the firing process, and the carbon content of the leaf would chemically react with the glaze in the extreme heat, leaving a shadowy image behind. These leaf patterns (cut paper designs were also used) were a special product of the Jizhou kilns, and were particularly valued in Song China and in Japan.²

(1) From the British Museum web page dedicated to this tea bowl.

(2) Ibid.