A Clair-de-lune-glazed JUN Foliate Wine Vessel (Zhi)

With a round opening, a curved body, and a round bottom, the Zhi (wine vessel) is decorated with a six-lobed chrysanthemum-shaped body carved with broad and beautifully curved petals, overlapped with each other. On the other side of the rim, a frieze of floral pattern is carved out above the half-ring handle. It is covered in Clair-de-lune glaze and delicate crackles. The joint areas between the rim and exterior wall, the flutes and grooves hold thicker milky glaze; while the rim, the bulging petals and the protruding edge hold thinner transparent glaze, leaving its dark brown biscuit looming from below. Five spur marks are evenly districuted in the bottom.

Zhi, an ancient wine vessel, according to Word Definition, Zhi, “Zhi, it is a round vessel, also known as Dan; Zhi and Yi, both are wine vessels.” Many JUN wares in the Northern Song Dynasty were formed after ritual bronze wares in the Shang and Zhou Dynasties with some adjustments.