Bulb bowl, Numbered Jun ware 1200 - 1400

This bulb bowl was made in China out of Jun ware, and like all ceramics, its story begins with humble clay. The bowl’s beauty lies in its unpredictable glaze: that cloudy, opalescent blue tone. This effect, known as “transmutation glaze,” comes from liquid separation during the high-firing process in the kiln. The seemingly random patterns were prized, but this also meant a high rate of failure in production. It took great skill to control all the variables. The bowl is numbered, suggesting it was part of a set. These pieces were made for the imperial court, a context where a well-made object was valued as a symbol of dynastic authority. The emphasis placed on the transformative potential of materials and making processes challenges traditional distinctions between art, craft, and industry, inviting us to reconsider the value we place on skilled labor and artistry in a world increasingly dominated by mass production.