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Bowl

Asian Art

On View: Asian Galleries, West, 2nd floor (China)
This bowl is a superb example of the luscious white glaze produced at the Ding-ware kilns in northern China. These highly refined ceramics were among those presented to the Northern Song court and prized by elite collectors. Ding potters pioneered the technique of firing a vessel upside down on its rim, thereby spreading the weight of these delicate bowls in order to prevent warping and distortion. A copper or silver band was then fitted to the mouth of the bowl that had been left unglazed during the firing. It is one of a very small number of large-scale Dingware bowls still surviving.
MEDIUM Porcelain with glaze
  • Place Made: Hebei, China
  • DATES 960-1127
    DYNASTY Northern Song Dynasty
    PERIOD Song Dynasty
    DIMENSIONS 5 x 9 5/8 in. (12.7 x 24.5 cm)  (show scale)
    COLLECTIONS Asian Art
    ACCESSION NUMBER 47.219.20
    CREDIT LINE Anonymous gift
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Bowl: lipped mouth that flares slightly; deep belly that contracts down; shallow splayed foot. Billowing waves patterns on bottom of interior. Incised decoration of 4 interlocking blossoms of peony flowers on interior wall. 2 groups of interlocking lotus flowers on exterior wall. Clear glaze covers the vessel's interior and exterior. Rim and circular foot are unglazed. Glaze is a lime glaze with less than 1% iron. Fired within an oxidizing atmosphere, the glaze is a white glaze with a yellow tone. Daily used ware. Condition: Intact.
    EXHIBITIONS
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Asian Galleries, West, 2nd floor (China)
    CAPTION Bowl, 960-1127. Porcelain with glaze, 5 x 9 5/8 in. (12.7 x 24.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Anonymous gift, 47.219.20. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 47.219.20_SL1.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 47.219.20_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
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    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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