The shallow, delicately potted bowl is moulded with a complex, crisply defined design closely related to contemporary Ding ware. At the centre, a flowering lotus rises elegantly from rippling water, encircled by a continuous register of luxuriant blooms, including peony, amidst scrolling foliage. Two mirrored phoenixes glide gracefully among the floral tendrils, their sweeping tails integrated into the rhythmic flow of the composition. A narrow border frames the scene, lending a sense of balance and refinement to the overall design.
A moulded Qingbai ‘Phoenix’ bowl (Southern Song dynasty or early Yuan dynasty, 12th/13th century)
Description
Dimensions: 18.5cm diameter
Provenance:
A private Scandinavian collection
The shallow, delicately potted bowl is moulded with a complex, crisply defined design closely related to contemporary Ding ware. At the centre, a flowering lotus rises elegantly from rippling water, encircled by a continuous register of luxuriant blooms, including peony, amidst scrolling foliage. Two mirrored phoenixes glide gracefully among the floral tendrils, their sweeping tails integrated into the rhythmic flow of the composition. A narrow border frames the scene, lending a sense of balance and refinement to the overall design.
As characteristic of Qingbai production, the rim has been carefully wiped free of glaze to allow the bowl to be fired inverted on its edge, preserving the thin, translucent quality of the body and the even, bluish-white tone of the glaze.
A closely related example is preserved in the Percival David Collection, London (PDF A443), published in Qingbai Ware: Chinese Porcelain of the Song and Yuan Dynasties, ed. Stacey Pierson, Percival David Foundation, 2002, p. 56, no. 17; another variant is illustrated on p. 58, pl. 18.
