A Qingbai ware sake cup fired in the Southern Song. It has a cylindrical shape with a string relief design in the middle of the body, and a transparent glaze is carefully applied to the sides of the foot. It was baked with the lying down baking method, and the rim is unglazed.

The Qingbai ware produced by potters from northern China who moved south of the Yangtze River with the Song dynasty’s southward migration was fired in various regions, including current Jiangxi, Fujian and Guangdong provinces. The glaze colour of this piece suggests that it is from the Jingdezhen Hutian kiln, but similar clay and base treatments are also found on potshards excavated from the Jizhou kiln. Therefore it is difficult to determine this piece was made in which kiln. It is inferred to have originally been a container for tea powder or tea plant, but the dimensions are suitable for a wide range of uses, including a sake cup or sencha bowl.

There is an old Kintsugi repair, a single hairline on the rim, and several short hairlines, kiln chips on the base. It comes with a drawstring pouch and fits in a box.