Object Details
Description
Blue-and-white.
Clay: fine white porcelain.
Glaze: transparent, faintly bluish.
Decoration: in underglaze blue, waves, dragons, lotus panels outside. Six-character mark of the period inside bottom.
Label
This imperial bowl bears a Xuande reign mark in the interior. On the exterior it is decorated with two energetic, outstretched dragons gamboling among clouds. The base of the bowl is unglazed.
Deep bowls with thick walls like the Freer's bowl are often called "dice bowls." The name refers to their use in games played by tossing dice into them. It is unclear when the tradition to use bowls in dice games began, but there is pictorial evidence from the Liao Dynasty of this tradition. A Liao mural painting on the south wall of the rear chamber of Zhang Shiqing's tomb in Xuanhua, Hebei Province, illustrates a servant holding a thickly potted bowl filled with dice. While this painting provides evidence that bowls were used in dice games, it does not necessarily prove that Ming dynasty bowls of this shape had an identical purpose. Ming records of this practice have not yet come to light; therefore, scholars are continuing research on the use of the Ming bowls.
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Exhibition History
Luxury and Luminosity: Visual Culture and the Ming Court (July 3, 2004 to June 26, 2005)
Chinese Ceramics (May 9, 1993 to April 17, 1995)
Chinese Ceramics (April 11, 1978 to September 4, 1980)
Chinese Art (January 1, 1963 to March 6, 1981)
Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Ceramics (March 7, 1957 to January 1, 1963)
Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Ceramics, 1955 (September 19, 1955 to November 10, 1955)
Centennial Exhibition, Gallery 13 (November 10, 1955 to March 1, 1957)
Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Art, 1953 (May 26, 1953 to September 15, 1953)
Special Exhibition, Chinese Art, 1946 (August 7, 1946 to January 7, 1947)
Stone Sculpture, Buddhist Bronze, and Chinese Painting (May 2, 1923 to February 25, 1956)
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Date
1426-1435
Period
Ming dynasty, Xuande reign
Accession Number
F1945.35a-b
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Vessel
Medium
Porcelain with cobalt under colorless glaze
Dimensions
H x Diam: 12.6 × 26.6 cm (4 15/16 × 10 1/2 in)
Style
Jingdezhen ware
Origin
Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, China
Related Online Resources
Google Arts & Culture
See more items in
National Museum of Asian Art
Data Source
National Museum of Asian Art
Topic
ceramic
dragon
Jingdezhen ware
Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644)
Xuande reign (1426 - 1435)
lotus
China
porcelain
Chinese Art
Link to Original Record
Record ID
fsg_F1945.35a-b