A Sky Blue-glazed JUN Purple-splashed Vase (Yuhuchun)

The Yuhuchun vase is potted in a delicate size, which can be held in one palm, with a flared mouth, a tightened neck, a sloping shoulder and a bulging belly, supported on a straight round foot and covered overall in sky blue glaze, leaving the edge of the foot exposed (the bottom is applied with glaze too). The purple splash covers the most areas of the belly to present an elegant gradation, naturally blending into the blueness at the neck, appearing as the sky in the early morning. The grey biscuit looms through light brown glaze to echo the colour at the mouth.

Yuhuchun, the name of the vase is coined based on several speculations: according to the Twenty-four Virtues of the Poem by SIKONG, Tu in the Tang Dynasty, “to buy a bottle of wine and store it in a jade bottle; and to watch the beautiful rain scene in my small hut; with several scholar friends sitting together; and having groves of bamboo surrounding us.” People in the Tang Dynasty call tasty wine, “Chun”, and name the wine after the word Chun, which is stored in a special type of bottle for trading, hence the name, “Yuhuchun” vase.