Covered bowl

Covered bowl: low, with high domed cover, flattened round knob.
Clay: white porcelain with some pitting and impurities, heavily potted.
Glaze: clear, feldspathic porcelain glaze with some pitting and impurities. Base glazed, inside glazed except for a large triangular “miss” which contains a blackish discolored patch. Fitting edges of base and cover, as well as foot-rim, unglazed.
Decoration: painted in underglaze cobalt blue of good quality in the so-called “aster pattern.” Eleven panels each on bowl and cover, each containing an upright formal plant with leaves and one large flower. On cover, these arise from central lotus petals around knob which has a double row of petals. On bowl the panels spring from tips of lotus petals.

Historical period(s)
Qing dynasty, 1662-1722
Medium
Glazed porcelain, underglaze cobalt
Style
Jingdezhen ware
Dimensions
H x W x D: 20.1 x 25.6 x 25.6 cm (7 15/16 x 10 1/16 x 10 1/16 in)
Geography
China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1977.14a-b
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Bowl

Keywords
China, flower, Jingdezhen ware, lotus, plant, porcelain, Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911)
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Description

Covered bowl: low, with high domed cover, flattened round knob.
Clay: white porcelain with some pitting and impurities, heavily potted.
Glaze: clear, feldspathic porcelain glaze with some pitting and impurities. Base glazed, inside glazed except for a large triangular "miss" which contains a blackish discolored patch. Fitting edges of base and cover, as well as foot-rim, unglazed.
Decoration: painted in underglaze cobalt blue of good quality in the so-called "aster pattern." Eleven panels each on bowl and cover, each containing an upright formal plant with leaves and one large flower. On cover, these arise from central lotus petals around knob which has a double row of petals. On bowl the panels spring from tips of lotus petals.

Label

The floral pattern that ornaments this covered bowl was a popular motif on export blue-and-white porcelain of the K'ang-hsi period (1662-1722).  It is frequently encountered in Chinese porcelain salvaged from ships which wrecked in the early 17th century, some of them off the coast of Florida. In these instances, the cargo was shipped over the Pacific via Mexico and the West Indies to Europe.

Published References
  • Julia Murray. A Decade of Discovery: Selected Acquisitions 1970-1980. Exh. cat. Washington, 1979. cat. 29, p. 39.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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