Ding ware dish with molded decoration of mandarin ducks

Object Details

• Description

  Plate with design of mandarin ducks, lotuses, and other aquatic plants raised in low relief. Border of foliate patterns on sloping edge. Rim unglazed with brass binding. No spur marks.

  Body: probably dense white, completely covered.

  Glaze: uniform creamy white.

• Label

  During the Jin dynasty, molded decoration became the most popular means for embellishing Ding ware, which in earlier periods often bore designs carved by hand. Molds advanced ceramic technology by allowing large numbers of nearly identical dishes to be produced without sacrificing the quality of the intricate design. This dish portrays a duck swimming in a lotus pond toward its mate on the shore. The design is a standard metaphor for marital harmony, as Mandarin ducks mate for life.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Black and White: Chinese Ceramics from the 10th-14th Centuries (December 18, 2004 to November 7, 2010)

  Chinese Ceramics (March 15, 1982 to July 10, 1986)

  Chinese Art (March 9, 1981 to March 12, 1982)

  Chinese Ceramics (May 9, 1980 to March 6, 1981)

  Chinese Ceramics (April 11, 1978 to September 4, 1980)

  Chinese Calligraphy and Ceramics (April 18, 1977 to April 8, 1978)

  Chinese Art (January 1, 1963 to March 6, 1981)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Ceramics (March 7, 1957 to January 1, 1963)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Ceramics, 1955 (September 19, 1955 to November 10, 1955)

  Centennial Exhibition, Gallery 13 (November 10, 1955 to March 1, 1957)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Art, 1946 (May 6, 1946 to November 17, 1955)

  Special Exhibition, Chinese Art, 1946 (August 7, 1946 to January 7, 1947)

• Origin

  Hebei province, China

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1100s, 1200s

• Place

  China, Hebei province

• Topic

  Jin dynasty (1115 - 1234), Porcelain, Art, Chinese Art, Ceramics, Ding ware, Ducks

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)