Charles Vyse, rare Chelsea Pottery Jun glazed bowl in Chinese Sung style, c1930

Size:  13.1 cm diameter, external depth 7.5 cm

Condition:  Very good condition, no chips cracks or restoration. Some glaze bubbles/pops in the well of the bowl are from the time of firing.

Charles Vyse and his wife Nell are key figures in the development of British studio pottery, bringing together a broad set of skills and training in their Chelsea studio.  Their influence was never greater than in their mastery of "Sung" ceramics, which they developed in the late 1920s, inspired by the collection of early Chinese ceramics of their friend George Eumorfopoulos.  Some, like this bowl with its Jun glaze, are almost exact copies of the Chinese.  This bowl has beautiful and subtle contrasts in the glaze, from the eggshell blue interior to a deep purple on the base, with "hare's fur" and other effects in between.

There is the usual incised mark "C VYSE CHELSEA" on the base, but it is covered by glaze and only visible if held at a certain angle to a light source.