Dish with foliate flaring rim

Object Details

• Description

  Blue-and-white.

  Clay: fine white porcelain; three small cracks.

  Glaze: plain, transparent.

  Decoration: in underglaze cobalt blue; dragon inside and 10 small dragons outside; six-character Hsuan- te mark in blue on base.

• Marks

  Six-character Xuande [Hsuan- te] mark in underglaze blue on base.

• Label

  Writers and painters washed their brushes in bowls like this. The ten-lobed, foliate shape was created by using a mold. Inside the bowl, a single dragon gambols through clouds. On the exterior, ten circular motifs, each consisting of a small dragon and clouds, appear; the depiction of the dragons alternates between showing them in ascent or descent. An imperial reign mark written in cobalt appears on the base of the dish.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Looking Out, Looking In: Art in Late Imperial China (October 14, 2017 - ongoing)

  Luxury and Luminosity: Visual Culture and the Ming Court (July 3, 2004 to June 26, 2005)

  Chinese Ceramics (May 9, 1993 to April 17, 1995)

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

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

  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, 1953 (May 26, 1953 to September 15, 1953)

  Stone Sculpture, Buddhist Bronze, and Chinese Painting (May 2, 1923 to February 25, 1956)

• Origin

  Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, China

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Vessel

• On View

  Freer Gallery 13: Looking Out, Looking In: Art in Late Imperial China

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1400s

• Place

  China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen

• Topic

  Porcelain, Art, Chinese Art, Ceramics, Jingdezhen ware, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), Xuande reign (1426 - 1435), Dragon

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)

• On View

  Yes