This exceptionally rare bowl exemplifies the late T'ang production of brown painted wares at the Huang-pao-ch'en kilns at Yao-chou in Shansi province. This region would gain lasting fame for the production of "northern celadon" during the Sung (960-1279) and Chin (1115-1234) dynasties. The intriguing interior cluster of quatrefoil motifs seen here, probably representing abstract plant forms, appear on pottery shards excavated at the Huang-pao-ch'en site. The painting technique developed during T'ang at this important ceramic center provides a northern precedent for the popular brown and white slip decorated wares of the Tz'u-chou kilns which flourished during Sung and Yuan dynasties (1280-1368).