Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Ashmolean − Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

The Barlow Collection

A select catalogue of the Barlow collection of Chinese Ceramics, Bronzes and Jades by the University of Sussex (published Sussex, 2006).

The Barlow Collection by the University of Sussex

Publications online: 456 objects

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Dish in the style of Guan ware

  • loan
  • Literature notes

    This crackled glaze, which copies guan, the ‘official’ ware of the Southern Song period (1127–1279), continued to remain popular throughout the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) dynasties. Wheras the Song pieces were made in the then capital, Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, the later pieces were made by the main porcelain manufacturing centre, Jingdezhen in Jiangxi, with a porcelain body that was deliberately stained dark brown, in order to imitate the Song prototype more faithfully. The present dish is, however, not in a shape known from the Song period, and the glaze is much glossier than the Song dynasty version.

    The shallow dish rises from a narrow splayed foot with deeply undercut base, the wide everted sides with convex profile on the outside, but flared on the inside. The piece is heavily potted, covered with a glaze of bluish-grey tone which shows a double crackle with prominent black-stained and lesser reddish-brown veins. Some glaze gaps on the outside show that the glaze was very thickly applied over a dark brown body. The foot is neatly finished and the footring unglazed.
  • Details

    Associated place
    AsiaChinaJiangxi provinceJingdezhen Jingdezhen kilns (place of creation)
    Date
    18th century (1701 - 1800)
    Qing Dynasty (1645 - 1911)
    Material and technique
    porcelain, thrown, with bluish-grey crackled glaze
    Dimensions
    2.4 cm (height)
    15.9 cm (diameter)
    at foot 5.6 cm (diameter)
    Material index
    Technique index
    Object type index
    No. of items
    1
    Credit line
    Lent by the Sir Alan Barlow Collection Trust.
    Accession no.
    LI1301.232
  • Further reading

    University of Sussex, and Arts and Humanities Research Council, The Barlow Collection, supervised by Regina Krahl, Maurice Howard, and Aiden Leeves (Sussex: University of Sussex, 2006), no. C220

Glossary (2)

glaze, porcelain

  • glaze

    Vitreous coating applied to the surface of a ceramic to make it impermeable or for decorative effect.

  • porcelain

    Ceramic material composed of kaolin, quartz, and feldspar which is fired to a temperature of c.1350-1400⁰c. The resulting ceramic is vitreous, translucent, and white in colour.

Location

    • currently in research collection

Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.

 

Publications online

  • The Barlow Collection by the University of Sussex

    The Barlow Collection

    This crackled glaze, which copies guan, the ‘official’ ware of the Southern Song period (1127–1279), continued to remain popular throughout the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) dynasties. Wheras the Song pieces were made in the then capital, Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, the later pieces were made by the main porcelain manufacturing centre, Jingdezhen in Jiangxi, with a porcelain body that was deliberately stained dark brown, in order to imitate the Song prototype more faithfully. The present dish is, however, not in a shape known from the Song period, and the glaze is much glossier than the Song dynasty version.

    The shallow dish rises from a narrow splayed foot with deeply undercut base, the wide everted sides with convex profile on the outside, but flared on the inside. The piece is heavily potted, covered with a glaze of bluish-grey tone which shows a double crackle with prominent black-stained and lesser reddish-brown veins. Some glaze gaps on the outside show that the glaze was very thickly applied over a dark brown body. The foot is neatly finished and the footring unglazed.
Notice

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