Small vase. China. Song Dynasty (960 - 1279).

Small vase. China. Song Dynasty (960 - 1279).
Jizhou pottery.
Measurements: 17 cm (diameter).
Small vase in Jizhou ware, decorated with vegetal compositions worked in relief, alternating with grooved fretwork around the shoulders and base. Jizhou ware and porcelain originated in Jiangxi Province. The best-known wares are simple stoneware forms, with a strong emphasis on subtle effects in glazed ceramics. In the Song dynasty they achieved great prestige, especially among Buddhist monks and for use in tea drinking. The Song dynasty period (960-1279) is a brilliant period in Chinese history, the political and intellectual foundation of modern China. The rulers of the previous dynasty, the Tang, relied on the military aristocracy, but the first emperor of the new Song dynasty replaced them with a corps of learned officials, forming a new elite that was accessed through a system of national examinations, to which the entire population was eligible, regardless of what social class they were born into. Initially the capital was located in northern China at Bialiang, but after the Jurchen conquest of the city in 1127, a new capital was founded in the south, in the city of Linan (present-day Hangzhou). The Song period was a time of prosperity and peace, although China's territory was greatly reduced compared to the Tang Dynasty.