Jun Yao bowl
Yuan Dynasty (1279-1369 AD)
Stoneware, glaze

This was the time of Kubilai Khan, who defeated the Sung in 1276, and who made his capital at Beijing. This was also the time when Marco Polo came to visit. The dynasty was known as cosmopolitan and refined.

This bowl has a thick lavender-blue glaze and interesting patina because after the first firing it was covered with several layers of glaze containing rice stalk ash. Silica in the ash is suspended in the glaze, giving an opalescent effect.