336 - LIDDED MEIPING VASE WITH JUN-TYPE LAVENDER-SPLASH GLAZE , CHINA YUAN DYNASTY

LIDDED MEIPING VASE WITH JUN-TYPE LAVENDER-SPLASH GLAZE , CHINA YUAN DYNASTY Dimensions: Height 30 cm Wide 19 cm Depth 19 cm Weight: 2332 grams A substantial stoneware meiping with broad rounded shoulders tapering towards a narrow foot, surmounted by a short neck and fitted cover. The vessel is covered in a softly opalescent sky-blue Jun-type glaze with fine crackling, dramatically interrupted by a lavender-purple splash that flows irregularly across the body. Near the foot the glaze stops unevenly, exposing the buff ceramic body. Jun wares are admired for glazes whose colour and movement emerge through the firing process rather than through painted decoration. Copper-rich areas can develop into violet and purple tones against the blue ground, producing effects that appear spontaneous and almost atmospheric. On the disciplined meiping silhouette, this unpredictability creates a particularly effective contrast. The present vase is visually dominated by that relationship between controlled form and fluid glaze. The broad shoulder provides a generous field for the lavender transmutation, while firing marks, small pits and variations in the glaze reinforce the material character that makes Jun-type ceramics so distinctive.