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White ware bowl with dragons chasing flaming pearls
- loan
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Details
- Associated place
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Asia › China › Jiangxi province › Jingdezhen › Jingdezhen kilns (place of creation)
- Associated people
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Hongzhi, Emperor of China (ruled 1487 - 1505) (named on object)
- Material and technique
- porcelain, thrown, with incised reserve decoration against a transparent glaze; base, with inscription in underglaze painting in cobalt-blue; rim, gold lacquer repair
- Dimensions
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7.7 cm (height)
16.5 cm (diameter)
- Material index
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processed material › metal › gold,
- Technique index
-
- Object type index
- No. of items
- 1
- Credit line
- Lent by the Sir Alan Barlow Collection Trust.
- Accession no.
- LI1301.80
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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. C51
Glossary (4)
glaze, lacquer, porcelain, underglaze painting
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glaze
Vitreous coating applied to the surface of a ceramic to make it impermeable or for decorative effect.
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lacquer
Chinese and Japanese lacquer is made from the sap of the lacquer tree, which is indigenous to Eastern China. It is applied to wood as a varnish or for decorative effect. In India and the Middle East, lacquer is made from the deposit of the lac insect.
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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.
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underglaze painting
Painting applied to ceramic material before a transparent, or monochrome or coloured glaze for Islamic objects, is applied. The technique was initially developed in China.
Location
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- 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
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The Barlow Collection
The deep bowl has a flared rim and a slightly tapering foot. The inside is decorated with a dragon, curled to form a medallion, together with small cloud motifs, and the outside with two similar dragons in pursuit of flaming pearls among thinly rendered waves. The motifs are incised into the body, the dragons with large eyes, closed mouths with protruding fangs, short horns, thick manes, five claws, and scaly bodies emitting flames. The animals and clouds are reserved in the biscuit and have fired a faint orange, the rest is covered with a transparent colourless glaze. The base is inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character Hongzhi reign mark in a double ring. The rim has a gilt repair.
© 2013 University of Oxford - Ashmolean Museum