Bowl with openwork decoration and dragon roundels

Cup (with stand); delicately potted with pierced sides, everted rim, straight-sided foot with a groove; one very small chip in rim.
Clay: fine, off-white porcelain; resonant.
Glaze: thin, clear, feldspathic. One dark spot (an impurity) and other minor rough spots inside bottom. Base and edge of foot-rim unglazed.
Decoration: pierced and molded in low relief. At top, narrow border of simple flowers and scroll. Main band, pierced in coin pattern with five circular medallions containing dragons in relief. Bottom band, four large flowers with scrolls.

Historical period(s)
Ming dynasty, Wanli era, late 16th-early 17th century
Medium
Porcelain with clear colorless glaze
Style
Jingdezhen ware
Dimensions
H x Diam: 5 × 9 cm (2 × 3 9/16 in)
Geography
China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1975.10a-b
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Bowl

Keywords
China, dragon, Jingdezhen ware, medallion, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), porcelain
Provenance
Provenance research underway.
Description

Cup (with stand); delicately potted with pierced sides, everted rim, straight-sided foot with a groove; one very small chip in rim.
Clay: fine, off-white porcelain; resonant.
Glaze: thin, clear, feldspathic. One dark spot (an impurity) and other minor rough spots inside bottom. Base and edge of foot-rim unglazed.
Decoration: pierced and molded in low relief. At top, narrow border of simple flowers and scroll. Main band, pierced in coin pattern with five circular medallions containing dragons in relief. Bottom band, four large flowers with scrolls.

Label

This cup, with its molded dragon medallions against a finely reticulated coin design, belongs to a late Ming export type. Some related examples bear marks of the Wanli (1573-1619) and the Tianqi (1621-27) periods.

Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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