Butterfly – Skyward Dragon Kiln Wood-fired Jian Zhan (180ml) (PBF 2504-13-09）

Butterfly is one of the rarest known outcomes within the Patina glaze family, formed through traditional wood firing in a 60-meter Skyward Dragon Kiln in Jianyang. The glaze developed under prolonged flame travel and the complex atmospheric conditions unique to large dragon kilns.

During firing, iron migration within the exceptionally high-iron glaze, combined with alternating oxidation and reduction conditions and natural wood ash deposition, produced silver crystalline structures across the glaze surface. Within the Patina glaze, these crystals occasionally developed into distinctive butterfly-like patterns under specific temperature gradients.

This effect appeared only intermittently during several years of operation in the original 60-meter Skyward Dragon Kiln. The kiln has since been incorporated into the Jian Ware Historical and Cultural Protection Zone and is no longer permitted to fire. As a result, the exact firing conditions responsible for this glaze can no longer be recreated.

Fewer than four hundred pieces were successfully produced in total, with fewer than seventy authenticated examples believed to remain available worldwide. Today, Butterfly is regarded as one of the rarest surviving outcomes of modern dragon-kiln Jian Zhan.

This larger example presents the glaze across a broader bowl form, allowing the butterfly-like crystallization, patina field, and central mineral transformation to be observed with unusual clarity. Pieces of this scale and level of preservation are especially uncommon.

Handmade in Shuiji Town, Jianyang, Fujian, using exceptionally high iron-content local clay and naturally iron-saturated mineral glaze.

Technical Specifications

Kiln Type: 60-meter Skyward Dragon Kiln wood-fired

Firing Temperature: approx. 1350 °C

Firing Cycle: approx. 20 days preparation, 3 days firing

Firing Atmosphere: alternating oxidation and reduction

Forming Method: fully hand-thrown

Trimming Method: fully hand-trimmed

Clay Source: Shuiji Town, Jianyang, Fujian

Clay Iron Content: >12%

Glaze Material: natural iron-bearing mineral glaze

Glaze Structure: surface crystallization

Glaze Type: Persimmon Rust (iron-rust crystalline glaze)

Edition: individually numbered work

Origin: Shuiji Town, Jianyang, Fujian, China

Details

• Diameter: 9.9 cm (3.90 in)

• Height: 5.4 cm (2.13 in)

• Capacity: 180 ml (6.09 fl oz)

• Weight: 217 g (7.65 oz)

• Note:

 – Capacity measured close to the rim; for use, fill about 70% full.

 – All measurements are taken by hand; slight variation may occur.

In the Box

• Rosewood Collector’s Box with Concealed Mechanism

• Linen Cup Pouch

• Double-Layer Cotton Tea Towel

• Collector’s Brochure with Certificate — artisan-signed, sealed, and individually numbered

• Care Instruction Card

• Disposable LED Mini Light