This stoneware bowl has underglaze iron-brown and copper green decoration of floral and cloud motif on the interior and outer walls. Such wares are thought to signal the first use of underglaze decoration painted into the body, and copper is particularly associate with wares from the Tongguan kilns at Changsha. They have a lead-free lime glaze, and were fired at 1170-1220 degrees Celsius, the earliest high-fired examples to include copper decoration. Such wares were exported widely in East, Southeast, South, West Asia and as far as Africa, and were popular in China as well. A range of other shapes have been found including ewers, pillows, toys in the shape of figures and animals, and scholars’ items such as waterdroppers and inkstones.
