Bowl with Arabic inscriptions

Blue-and-white. Bowl with slightly flaring rim.
Clay: fine white porcelain.
Glaze: plain, transparent, glossy.
Decoration: in underglaze blue; inside, a border of thunder pattern and in the center an Arabic inscription surrounded by scrolls; outside, six circles with Arabic script amid floral motifs. Six-character Cheng-te mark on base.

Historical period(s)
Ming dynasty, Zhengde reign, 1506-1521
Medium
Porcelain with cobalt decoration under colorless glaze
Style
Jingdezhen ware
Dimensions
H x Diam: 12.3 × 28 cm (4 13/16 × 11 in)
Geography
China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1953.75a-b
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Bowl

Keywords
China, flower, Jingdezhen ware, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), porcelain, Zhengde reign (1506 - 1521)
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Description

Blue-and-white. Bowl with slightly flaring rim.
Clay: fine white porcelain.
Glaze: plain, transparent, glossy.
Decoration: in underglaze blue; inside, a border of thunder pattern and in the center an Arabic inscription surrounded by scrolls; outside, six circles with Arabic script amid floral motifs. Six-character Cheng-te mark on base.

Marking(s)

Six-character Cheng-te mark on base.

Published References
  • Oriental Ceramics: The World's Great Collections. 12 vols., Tokyo. vol. 10, pl. 110.
  • Dr. John Alexander Pope, Thomas Lawton, Harold P. Stern. The Freer Gallery of Art. 2 vols., Washington and Tokyo, 1971-1972. cat. 100, vol. 1: p. 175.
  • John Carswell. Blue and White Chinese Porcelain and its Impact on the Western World. Exh. cat. Chicago. p. 31.
  • Sarah Sato. A Study of Zhengde Period Blue and White with Arabic Inscriptions, Background of its Production at Jingdezhen. vol. 32 Tokyo, 2002-2003. pp. 75-76, 95, fig. 29.
  • Cheng Te-k'un. Studies in Chinese Ceramics. Hong Kong. p. 92, pl. 77b.
  • Charles Patrick Fitzgerald. The Horizon History of China. New York. p. 122.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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