Bowl

Bowl with plain, slightly flaring rim. Blue-and-white.
Clay: fine white porcelain.
Glaze: plain, transparent.
Decoration: in underglaze cobalt blue; inside, “the three friends” in a circle in center; outside, landscape with figures.

Historical period(s)
Ming dynasty, Probably Chenghua reign, 1450-1500
Medium
Glazed porcelain, cobalt under glaze
Style
Jingdezhen ware
Dimensions
H x Diam: 9.5 × 20.4 cm (3 3/4 × 8 1/16 in)
Geography
China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1952.4a-b
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Bowl

Keywords
Chenghua reign (1465 - 1487), China, Jingdezhen ware, landscape, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), porcelain, qin
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Description

Bowl with plain, slightly flaring rim. Blue-and-white.
Clay: fine white porcelain.
Glaze: plain, transparent.
Decoration: in underglaze cobalt blue; inside, "the three friends" in a circle in center; outside, landscape with figures.

Label

In a scene on the outside of this bowl, three friends meet in a garden to enjoy an interlude of music. Inside the bowl the motif of the Three Friends of Winter--pine, bamboo, and flowering plum--reinforces the theme of friendship.

Published References
  • Oriental Ceramics: The World's Great Collections. 12 vols., Tokyo. vol. 10, pl. 31.
  • Mayuyama Junkichi. Obei shuzo chugoku toji zuroku [Chinese Ceramics in the West]. Tokyo. pl. 97.
  • Dr. John Alexander Pope, Thomas Lawton, Harold P. Stern. The Freer Gallery of Art. 2 vols., Washington and Tokyo, 1971-1972. cat. 99, vol. 1: p. 175.
  • Ming Porcelains in the Freer Gallery of Art. Washington, 1953. p. 27, fig. 22.
  • Ann Frank. Chinese Blue and White. New York. p. 43.
  • Masterpieces of Chinese and Japanese Art: Freer Gallery of Art handbook. Washington, 1976. p. 72.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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