An unusual whiteware teabowl
白瓷茶盌 五代
The bowl is of well potted deep form with a contracted rim, resembling a tall alms-bowl, resting on a low rounded footrim with sandy adherences. It is applied inside and out with an opaque white glaze, gathering a little on the exterior as drips, also covering the underside of the base.
No bowl sharing all the same characteristics as the present bowl appears to have been published. However, the contracted-rim style of tea bowl, inspired by the form of the Buddhist alms-bowl, reached its heigh of popularity during the Five Dynasties Period, so an attribution to the period is reasonable. For comparison, see several contracted-rim early Yaozhou greenware bowls excavated from the Huangpu kiln site, illustrated in Excavations of the Five Dynasties Period Kiln-site at Huangpu in Tongchuan, plate XXII, 1,3,5.
Dimensions: Diameter 12.3 cm, 4 ⅞ inches
Date: Five Dynasties period (907-960)
Stock No. 2223
Price: On Request