Southern Song Dynasty Celadon Wine Jar with Leaf Lid

This is a celadon jar fired at an Guan ware during the Southern Song dynasty.
The body is a jar with a flared, cap-shaped lid, and is used to store liquids such as sake.
The body and lid have vertical grooves along the surface of the vessel.
The inner bottom is slightly bulged like a convex lens.
The lotus-leaf-shaped lid has a handle resembling a stem, has a wavy edge, and the cap is thick, giving it a solid weight.
The lid fits slightly loosely over the opening of the body, and the area where it meets the body is unglazed, allowing the texture of the clay to be seen.
The foot is well-proportioned, as is typical of Southern Song official kilns, and the base tapers towards the end.
The glaze at the bottom has been neatly removed to follow the contours of the body, revealing a continuous, arc-like shape with meticulous craftsmanship.
The entire piece is covered in a celadon glaze that is appropriate for a slightly grayish-blue color, and there are clear crackle-glazed patterns of various sizes along the curved surfaces.
This type of jar was popular from the Southern Song to Yuan dynasties, and many were produced in celadon kilns, with products from Longquan kilns being the main ones that have been passed down to Japan.
Often the lid has been lost and only the lower part is in circulation, but this example comes with the lid intact, making it a rare and valuable Southern Song Guan ware item.