Cleveland Museum of Art

Basin

Date

1127–1279

Medium

porcelaneous stoneware, Guan ware

Culture

China, Zhejiang province, Hangzhou, Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279)

Department

Chinese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Guan ware was the official ware fired at the Southern Song imperial kilns in Hangzhou. Multiple glazing is characteristic of this ware. The total thickness of the glaze can be greater than the clay body that supports it. Here, the thick gray-green glaze is webbed with a wide network of dark brown crackles as well as finer webs of light golden-brown and colorless crackles. The crackle pattern was developed after firing, due to the different rates of expansion and contraction of the body and the glaze. It was consciously exploited to achieve an aesthetic effect and was stained at different stages during the cooling process. The base shows that the basin was fired on 17 small spurs arranged in two concentric circles.

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