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- Porcelain bowl with lotus petals on exterior
Porcelain bowl with lotus petals on exterior
Object Details
- Description
- Blue-and-white.
- Clay: fine white porcelain.
- Glaze: plain, transparent.
- Decoration: in underglaze cobalt blue; flowers and fruit inside, plain dark petals outside.
- Label
- The deep, conical shape of this vessel is known in Chinese as a "lotus pod bowl," in reference to its silhouette that resembles the seedpod at the center of a lotus flower. Long, pointed petals on the exterior reinforce the lotus imagery. Inside the bowl, a spray of loquat appears at the bottom; scrolls of chrysanthemum and camellia blossoms, standing for autumn and winter, also appear. This design may suggest a seasonal use of the bowl.
- The bowl is unmarked, and since its type was prized at both the Yongle and Xuande courts, the vessel is difficult to date precisely, although this example seems more likely of the Yongle reign. Appreciation for this type of bowl extended far beyond China; similar examples were sent in the fifteenth century to not only the Near East and but also Europe.
- 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)
- Crosscurrents in Chinese and Islamic Ceramics (March 1, 1996 to July 1, 1997)
- Chinese Ceramics (May 9, 1993 to April 17, 1995)
- Chinese and Korean Ceramics (July 11, 1986 to March 13, 1987)
- 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)
- Credit Line
- Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
- Data Source
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
- Date
- early 15th century, probably Yongle reign
- Period
- Ming dynasty, Yongle or Xuande reign
- Accession Number
- F1951.14a-d
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- Vessel
- Medium
- Porcelain with cobalt under colorless glaze
- Dimensions
- H x Diam: 10 × 21 cm (3 15/16 × 8 1/4 in)
- Style
- Jingdezhen ware
- Origin
- Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, China
- On View
- Freer Gallery 13: Looking Out, Looking In: Art in Late Imperial China
- Related Online Resources
- Google Cultural Institute
- See more items in
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
- Topic
- ceramic
- flower
- Jingdezhen ware
- Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644)
- Yongle reign (1403 - 1424)
- Xuande reign (1426 - 1435)
- lotus
- China
- porcelain
- Chinese Art
- Record ID
- fsg_F1951.14a-d
- Usage
- Not determined
Related Object Groups
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