Song Dynasty Miniature Pottery Jarlet

Southern Song Dynasty, 1127–1275 AD, China

Fascinating Southern Song dynasty hand-modeled miniature pottery jarlet featuring a compressed globular body, sloping shoulders, and a short neck rising to a slightly everted rim, all resting on a flat unglazed base. The vessel is covered in a coarse brownish gray glaze   with a red inclusions.

During the Song dynasty, ceramic artistry reached a pinnacle of refinement, celebrated for its subtle beauty, restrained decoration, and harmonious form. The period is traditionally divided into two distinct phases — the Northern Song (960–1127) and the Southern Song (1127–1275) — each fostering major kiln traditions. Among the most renowned were Ding, Jun, Yaozhou, and Cizhou in the North, and Longquan and Jingdezhen in the South.

Song ceramics are admired for their quiet elegance and technical mastery rather than ornate decoration. The glazes — in hues of green, white, black, or celadon tones — were achieved through precise control of iron content and kiln atmosphere. Decorative techniques, when present, were executed with restraint through incising, engraving, or impressing, producing wares that epitomized the dynasty’s philosophical and aesthetic ideals of simplicity, balance, and natural beauty.

Good condition. Intact. Surface wear commensurate with age, minor chips and scratches to the body, with encrusted patina and rich earthen deposits throughout. Discolouring and glazing flaws. Size approx. 3,7cm x 4,1cm x 4,2cm. 

Provenance: Danish private collection

References and further reading:

Song to Yuan dynasties 960–1350, National Palace Museum, Taipei.(https://www.npm.edu.tw/exh99/ceramics/en/page-3.html#main)

The Enchantment of Song, Ying Jang & Annika Waenerberg, 2002, Academia.(https://www.academia.edu/10582197/The_Enchantment_of_Song)