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Lot Essay
White monochrome wares with biscuit decoration were produced during the Chenghua, Hongzhi and Zhengde reigns. The biscuit-reserved areas were incised to the unbaked body and covered with a layer of wax prior to applying the glaze. During firing the wax would melt leaving behind the incised design in slightly buff-coloured biscuit.
Several dishes of this design are known, but bowls are much rarer. An identical bowl is illustrated by J. Ayers, The Baur Collection, vol. 1, Geneva, 1999, pl. 68. Cf. the dishes in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, illustrated by S. Valenstein, A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1989, no. 155; and in the British Museum, illustrated by J. Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics, London, 2001, pl. 7:3.
Several dishes of this design are known, but bowls are much rarer. An identical bowl is illustrated by J. Ayers, The Baur Collection, vol. 1, Geneva, 1999, pl. 68. Cf. the dishes in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, illustrated by S. Valenstein, A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics, New York, 1989, no. 155; and in the British Museum, illustrated by J. Harrison-Hall, Ming Ceramics, London, 2001, pl. 7:3.