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Pair of Bowls

Asian Art

The imperial porcelain factories of Jingdezhen experimented with a wide range of colors in the early Qing Dynasty. Transparent enamels, including the dark yellow seen here, were applied either directly on the unglazed porcelain body or over a fired porcelain with a thin, clear glaze. The colors are very fluid and during firing they fill the fine lines that have been carved into the porcelain. Qing court regulation specified all-over yellow vessels for the use at the emperor, empress, and empress dowager, but actual practice was not as rigid as the regulations suggest.

MEDIUM Porcelain with monochrome glaze
  • Place Made: Jiangxi, China
  • DATES 1722-1735
    DYNASTY Qing Dynasty
    PERIOD Yongzheng Period
    DIMENSIONS height: 2 1/2 in. (6.3 cm); diameter: 5 3/8 in. (13.7 cm) each, excluding stands: 1/8 in. (0.3 cm)  (show scale)
    INSCRIPTIONS 6-character standard script inscription, written in cobalt-blue underglaze: "Made during the Yongzheng reign of the great Qing."
    COLLECTIONS Asian Art
    ACCESSION NUMBER 78.146.2
    CREDIT LINE Bequest of Helen Babbott Sanders
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Everted mouth; curved belly that gradually contracts down; circular foot. Monochrome glaze. Incised interlocking floral and grass sprays on interior and exterior of vessel. 6-character standard script inscription, written in cobalt-blue underglaze: "Made during the Yongzheng reign of the great Qing." Low-temperature yellow glaze on interior and exterior (iron produces the color). Clear glaze on bottom of base. Imperial ware (object used in palace). Condition: Intact.
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Pair of Bowls, 1722-1735. Porcelain with monochrome glaze, height: 2 1/2 in. (6.3 cm); diameter: 5 3/8 in. (13.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of Helen Babbott Sanders, 78.146.2. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 78.146.2_bw.jpg)
    IMAGE group, 78.146.2_bw.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
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     <em>Pair of Bowls</em>, 1722-1735. Porcelain with monochrome glaze, height: 2 1/2 in. (6.3 cm); diameter: 5 3/8 in. (13.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Bequest of Helen Babbott Sanders, 78.146.2. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 78.146.2_bw.jpg)