Yueyao bowl

This beautiful grey-green bowl was fired in the 9th century at the Yue kilns in north Zhejiang province. Despite its apparent simplicity, it represents a major development in the quality of wares produced by the kilns.

Around this time, a new term, mise, appeared in the works of poets and other writers. The usual translation is ‘secret colour’. Scholars could only surmise the actual colour denoted by the term mise, until the chance discovery in 1987 revealed a cache of artefacts beneath the partially collapsed Famen Temple Pagoda in Shaanxi. Sealed in 874, the cache included a stele detailing the contents, including several items which were described as mise wares. The identification was complete.