Cleveland Museum of Art

Cover for a Qingbai Ware Bowl

Date

1100s–1200s

Medium

Porcelain with pale bluish-white glaze, Qingbai ware

Culture

South China, Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279)

Department

Chinese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

While dark-glazed ceramics resemble black lacquer ware, and celadons were often compared to green jade, white or bluish-white glazed stoneware imitates silver. Here, broad silver bands around the bowls’ rims accentuate their precious appearance. The incised petals are inspired by lotus flowers and the domed covers by their circular leaves. The lotus motif often indicates the use of an object in a Buddhist context, in which it is a symbol of purity as its flowers emerge unsullied from the mud of lakes and ponds. Alternatively, these bowls may have been used to hold food at banquets. The kilns in which qingbai ware were fired used pine wood as fuel, preventing oxidation and creating the distinct blue-green tint.

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