Dish with design of lotus pond

Object Details

• Description

  Dish with flattened foliate rim, unglazed base and bevelled foot.

  Clay: porcelain, slightly grayish.

  Glaze: transparent, tinged with blue, particularly distinct around the rim.

  Decoration: painted in underglaze blue; blackish spots in places. Design of lotus pond in center, chrysanthemum scroll on cavetto, and classic scroll on rim; on the exterior: lotus panels enclosing leaf form on cavetto.

• Label

  The lotus-pond design originated as a Chinese Buddhist theme, but lotus flowers and leaves became favorite motifs in West Asia. On this dish, the regular repetition of the lotus plant in a gridlike layout suggests woven textile patterns. The density of patterning, filling the surface with a variety of motifs, is typical of fourteenth-century decoration on Jingdezhen porcelain made for West Asian customers.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Crosscurrents in Chinese and Islamic Ceramics (March 1, 1996 to July 1, 1997)

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

  A Decade of Discovery: Selected Acquisitions 1970-1980 (November 9, 1979 to May 22, 1980)

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

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

• Origin

  Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, China

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1300s

• Place

  China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen

• Topic

  Porcelain, Art, Chrysanthemum, Chinese Art, Yuan dynasty (1279 - 1368), Ceramics, Flowers, Jingdezhen ware, Lotus

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)