Tea bowl

Teacups of coarse material with thick, heavy glaze are a typical example of Jian yao ceramics, named after the locality in Fujian province where the rustic workshops were in operation. The best-known type of glaze on these ceramics is referred to as “hare’s fur”. It enjoyed wide popularity not only in China, but also in Japan. Japanese monks got to know it in Chinese Buddhist monasteries where they studied, and named this type of cups temmoku, which is the Japanese equivalent of Tianmu, the name of a mountain in China’s Zhejiang province. The term temmoku subsequently came to designate the entire family of Chinese black glazed wares.