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A qingbai (bluish-white) bowl
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| Object Name | A qingbai (bluish-white) bowl |
| Description | This bowl has a wide unglazed rim, a flaring mouth and a footring. Its exterior and interior as well as the base of the footring are in a bluish-white glaze. According to its glaze color, this bowl is categorized as qingbai (bluish white) ware*. Such a typical glaze tone was produced as a natural result of reduction firing in a wood-fired kiln, which was the most straightforward method for potters working in southern China. Overall the glazing appears quite even and smooth. The unglazed rim, exposing the thin and finely wheeled buff body, demonstrates that this bowl was produced through a technique of firing called fushao* (the rim-down firing). Fushao was firstly adopted at the northern Ding kilns in the Hebei province during the mid-Northern Song period. It later influenced the way of firing qingbai ware in the South. It is highly likely that this object was produced in the Jingdezhen kilns, of the Jiangxi province, where the qingbai ware was invented, perfected and manufactured in large quantities during both the Northern and Southern Song periods.
The exterior of this bowl is decorated with moulded overlapping lotus petal patterns. The lotus is a symbol of purity and integrity. It is also one of the eight precious Buddhist things. The lotus comes out of the mud but remains itself unstained. It is inwardly empty yet outwardly upright. It has no branches (no family/offspring) yet smells sweet. The interior is glazed in a darker bluish white glaze without any decorations. Inside the bottom there seems to be a spur mark.
This qingbai bowl was mistaken as a Chai ware by Dr. Kramer. Chai kiln was a famous ancient kiln allegedly set up in Zhengzhou by Chai Rong, the Emperor Shizong of Zhou (reigning 954-959), during the Five Dynasties period. According to literature, the vessels had a lustrous sky-blue glaze with fine crackles and the foot was marked with yellow grit. Xuande Ding Yi Pu (A Manual of Xuande Ritual Vessels) compiled in 1428 during the Xuande reign of the Ming dynasty, placed Chai ware on the top of its admired list of ceramics. Later, in the book titled qing mi cang (rare objects in the Qing Palace) by Zhang Yingwen, Chai ware was described as "qing ru tian, ming ru jing, bo ru zhi, sheng ru qing" (be as blue as the sky, as glossy as a mirror and as thin as paper, and to be able to ring like a chime when struck). However, it is generally believed that neither the Chai kiln site has been found, nor the Chai ware has been identified. Furthermore, as mentioned above, this bowl was actually fired through the fushao technique of firing that was not adopted until the mid-Northern Song period, much later than the Five Dynasties period. The tone of the glaze as well appears to be a typical bluish white. Moreover, a Korean celadon bowl dated to the 12th century (p.34, from Sotheby's Concise Encyclopedia of Porcelain edited by David Battie <London: Conran Octopus Ltd., 1990>) bears similar crisply carved overlapping lotus petal patterns on the exterior. As Korean celadon vessels were largely influenced by their contemporary Chinese counterparts, it demonstrates that such overlapping lotus petal designs were prevalent during the mid-Northern Song period. Therefore, it can be inferred that this vessel is a qingbai bowl probably made during the mid-Northern Song period.
* Fushao (the rim-down firing), also known as upside-down firing (as opposed to rim-up firing, zheng shao), refers to a method of arranging vessels during firing. Vessels were glazed and then the glaze on the rim of each piece was wiped off. They were then arranged upside down either in a multi-stepped saggar or on individual ring-setters. The method was invented at the Ding kilns in Hebei during the Northern Song, and was adopted at various times by the Jingdezhen and Jizhou kilns in Jiangxi, the Bacun kilns in the Yu county in Henan, the Yuta kilns in the Taishun county in Zhejiang, the Maodian kilns in the Guangze county, and the Dakou kilns in the Pucheng county in Fujian.
* Qingbai ware, literally 'bluish white ware, ' is an important porcelain produced in southern China during the Song and Yuan dynasties. Its glaze is bluish white with a jade texture, and its best examples are so fine that one can see one's reflection in its lustrous glaze. The ware is also known as ying qing, literally 'shadow blue'. This porcelain was invented in Jingdezhen during the Northern Song with the Hutian products being the most outstanding. The qingbai ware was also fired in the kilns in other southern provinces such as Anhui, Guangdong, Zhejiang and Fujian. The earliest known piece of bluish white ware is a bo bowl unearthed from a dated Northern Song tomb (A.D. 1000) in Jiujiang, in the Jiangxi province. The most common examples of these wares are daily utensils such as bowls, dishes, vase, jars, ewers, cup-stands, saucer dishes and censors. Many qingbai vessels are plain but some are decorated with carved or impressed designs, the most typical being the motif of 'children-at-play' employed by the Jingdezhen kiln. The quality of qingbai ware declined in the Yuan dynasty. Qingbai ware was extensively exported during the Song and Yuan periods. |
| Country of Origin | China |
| Medium | Porcelain, qingbai (bluish white) glaze, moulded decoration, unglazed rim |
| Dimensions | Height c. 6.4 cm; Diameter at mouth 12.1 cm, diameter at foot 5.1 cm |
| Period | Attributed to the Song dynasty
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| Date Original | 12th to 13th century; 1120-1279 A.D. |
| Location Number | AA 12 |
| Classification | Porcelain
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| Inventory Number | C93 |
| Repository | Special Collections, Gettysburg College |
| Contact Information | http://www.gettysburg.edu/special_collections/contact.dot |
| Rights | Digital images copyright Special Collections, Musselman Library, Gettysburg College. All rights reserved. For permission information, see http://www.gettysburg.edu/special_collections/policies/copyright_information.dot |
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