Bowl - Porcelain

A celadon longquan G-ware craquelé bowl, Qing dynasty style, 19th/20th century.

Dimensions :
5 cm large
8 cm high

Note :
Ge-type, finely potted, fluted cup. The lobed flaring sides rising from a slightly concave base to an everted rim, covered overall with a sea green glaze suffused with a matrix of dark grey crackles, thinning at the rim and base revealing the blackish body beneath. The base is glazed and the foot rim unglazed.

The delicate potting and glaze that thins at the rim to reveal the black body with a prominent crackled effect are characteristic of 'ge' wares produced from the Song dynasty into the Yuan period. 'Ge' is a connoisseur's term known only from post-Song texts and does not refer to a production area. It is used for ceramics similar to 'guan' wares but with a more opaque buff glaze as seen on the present cup. The crackle effect is distinctively stained black interspersed with some secondary rust-red or light-brown crackles. Nigel Wood in Chinese Glazes, London, 1999, p. 87, notes that it appears likely that both the 'ge' and the 'guan' wares issued simultaneously from the same kilns showing the natural variations of atmosphere, temperature and cooling that the dragon kilns provided.

The present cup in its form continues a Song dynasty vessel type produced at the official (guan) kilns located within the palace walls in the Song capital of Hangzhou, Zhejiang province.

Provenance :
From a Belgian private collection and acquired in the 20th century.