A very large Longquan celadon bowl
The bowl is superbly potted with stout well rounded sides springing from a low foot with tapered footrim. A thickly applied rich celadon glaze covers the bowl inside and out, pooling occasionally in more blue-tinted streaks. The glaze continues over most of the footrim and also covers the centre of the base, leaving a broad unglazed ring as the kiln support, burnt red in the firing.
Provenance:
From the collection of the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo
Literature:
Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Chinese Ceramics in the Idemitsu Collection, Tokyo, 1987, p. 331, pl. 600
Celadon wares of the type and quality of the present bowl are now considered to be offical ware. An entry in the Da Ming Huidian (‘Collected Statutes of the Ming dynasty’) describes imperial wares being fired in 1393 at the ‘Rao kilns’ (now called Jingdezhen) and the ‘Chu kilns’. The ‘Chu kilns’, in the region formerly known as Chuzhou, correspond to the Longquan kilns. The precise location of the kilns making these wares has been identified as Dayao Fengdongyan, near Lishui in Zhejiang. To emphasize the imperial nature of this type of Longquan celadon ware, the term ‘Chuzhou’ ware is sometimes used.
Large bowls or basins like the present example are rare. However, for two comparable large bowls, see 明代龍泉 窯青磁大窯楓洞岩窯址発掘成果展 “The Flower of Jade Green - Longquan Celadon of the Ming Dynasty”. Recent Archaeological Findings of the Dayao Fengdongyan Kiln Site”, no.02, p. 038 and no. 03, p. 039.
Dimensions: Diameter: 36.5 cm, 14 ⅜ inches
Date: Ming dynasty, 15th century
Stock No. 2097
Price: On Request