Footed bowl. Porcelain covered with blue glaze, Qinbai. China, Yuan dynasty, beginning of 14th century
Footed bowl. Porcelain covered with blue glaze, Qinbai. China, Yuan dynasty, beginning of 14th century. H. 10; Diam. 9.5 cm. Inv. no. 2372. Calouste Gulbenkian Museum © 2008 Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian
Bowl with double walls with four foliate panels where holy personages from the Taoist religion stand out in relief under bamboo leaves, framed by a fine rope of pearls that accentuates the lobed edge and is repeated in the interior. Partially translucid, it is covered with bluish glaze, described by the term qingbai (literally “blue-white”) and more recently, yingqing (“shadow-blue”).
The piece comes from the kilns at Jingdezhen, that with the introduction of underglaze cobalt blue painting became the most outstanding centre for the manufacture of Chinese porcelain, a distinction that it has maintained to the present day.
Provenance: Henry Brown Esq.; his sale, Sotheby's, London, March 25, 1947 (no. 21), bought through M. Knoedler & Co., Ltd.
Bibliography: - Lisbon 2001, Calouste Gulbenkian Museum – Album, Lisbon, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, 2001, p. 74, no. 52, colourpl.
- New York 1999, “Only the Best”. Masterpieces of the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon, exhibition catalogue, Katharine Baetjer e James David Draper (eds.) – New York (The Metropolitan Museum of Art), 1999, p. 28, no. 10, colourpl.
- Jenyns 1953, Soame Jenyns – Ming Pottery and Porcelain, London, 1953, p. 23, pl. 3A