VesselsChinese9th-10th century

Circular Dish with Thickened Rim and Bi-Disc Footring

9th – 10th century

Description

The interior of this thickly potted dish follows a continuous, parabolic curve; the exterior displays a thickened lip and a wide, straight-cut footring in the shape of a jade bi disc (though it should be noted that “bi-disc shaped footring” is a modern, rather than an ancient, characterization of the shape). Following Tang convention, the outside edge of the footring is lightly beveled, and a narrow, flat “ledge” encircles the lowest portion of the dish, immediately above the footring. The thin coating of white slip that covers the dish’s interior extends over the upper portion of the exterior, stopping just below the thickened lip. The slip was applied by dipping, as indicated by its diagonal edge, visible on the exterior. The transparent, pale blue glaze covers the interior and the upper half of the exterior but leaves unglazed the lower portion of the dish, including the footring and base. The dish was fired right side up. As gravity pulled it downward during firing, the viscous glaze pooled in a thick welt at its lower edge on the exterior; the glaze’s pale blue color is most evident in that welt, which encircles the exterior of the dish at its midpoint. A small amount of kiln grit adheres to the base and bottom of the footring. The dish is undecorated, relying on tautness of form and delicacy of color for its aesthetic appeal. Now removed, two early twenty-first century stickers were attached to the base of the dish, as follows: 1) a dealer’s circular sticker printed in green and reading Eskenazi (inventory number C3178 written on the sticker in black ball-point pen ink); 2) a collector’s circular sticker printed in black and reading Mei Yin Tang (inventory number 1763 written in black ball-point pen ink, and catalogue number 1422 written in red ball-point pen ink). A modern Chinese storage box, covered in chestnut-brown fabric, accompanies the dish.

Classification

Vessels

Medium

Xing or Xing-type ware: porcellaneous white stoneware with pale blue glaze over white slip on the interior and upper portion of the exterior; probably from kilns in Hebei province, perhaps from the Xing kilns at Neiqiu, Hebei province

Culture

Chinese

Period

Tang dynasty (618-907) to Five Dynasties period (907-960)

Century

9th-10th century

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Asian Art

Dimensions

H. 4 x Diam. 13.3 cm (1 9/16 x 5 1/4 in.)

Provenance

Private collection, Shanghai and Hong Kong (first half of 20th century - 1964, collection moved to Hong Kong in 1948 or early 1949), sold; [Spink and Son London, Hong Kong, 1964-1968]; to Kai-Yin Lo, Hong Kong, London and New York (1968-2003), sold; [Eskenazi, Ltd. London, 2003-2004, cat. no. 1422]; to Gilbert Zuellig, Switzerland (2004-2009), bequest; to Stephanie Zuellig (i.e. Mrs. Gilbert Zuellig), Switzerland (2009-2012), gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2012. Note: Gilbert Zuellig’s private collection is known as the Meiyintang Collection