Dish with design of lotus pond

Dish with flattened foliate rim, unglazed base and bevelled foot.
Clay: porcelain, slightly grayish.
Glaze: transparent, tinged with blue, particularly distinct around the rim.
Decoration: painted in underglaze blue; blackish spots in places. Design of lotus pond in center, chrysanthemum scroll on cavetto, and classic scroll on rim; on the exterior: lotus panels enclosing leaf form on cavetto.

Historical period(s)
Yuan dynasty, mid 14th century
Medium
Porcelain with cobalt pigment under clear, slightly bluish glaze
Style
Jingdezhen ware
Dimensions
H x Diam: 6.5 × 35 cm (2 9/16 × 13 13/16 in)
Geography
China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1974.32a-f
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Dish

Keywords
China, chrysanthemum, flower, Jingdezhen ware, lotus, porcelain, Yuan dynasty (1279 - 1368)
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Description

Dish with flattened foliate rim, unglazed base and bevelled foot.
Clay: porcelain, slightly grayish.
Glaze: transparent, tinged with blue, particularly distinct around the rim.
Decoration: painted in underglaze blue; blackish spots in places. Design of lotus pond in center, chrysanthemum scroll on cavetto, and classic scroll on rim; on the exterior: lotus panels enclosing leaf form on cavetto.

Label

The lotus-pond design originated as a Chinese Buddhist theme, but lotus flowers and leaves became favorite motifs in West Asia. On this dish, the regular repetition of the lotus plant in a gridlike layout suggests woven textile patterns. The density of patterning, filling the surface with a variety of motifs, is typical of fourteenth-century decoration on Jingdezhen porcelain made for West Asian customers.

Published References
  • Julia Murray. A Decade of Discovery: Selected Acquisitions 1970-1980. Exh. cat. Washington, 1979. cat. 24, p. 34.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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