A PALE BLUISH-WHITE-GLAZED 'SHUFU' BOWL
A PALE BLUISH-WHITE-GLAZED 'SHUFU' BOWL
A PALE BLUISH-WHITE-GLAZED 'SHUFU' BOWL
1 More
A PALE BLUISH-WHITE-GLAZED 'SHUFU' BOWL
4 More
PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT PRIVATE COLLECTION
A PALE BLUISH-WHITE-GLAZED 'SHUFU' BOWL

YUAN DYNASTY (1279-1368)

Details
A PALE BLUISH-WHITE-GLAZED 'SHUFU' BOWL
YUAN DYNASTY (1279-1368)
The bowl with deep, slightly flared sides is decorated in the center of the interior with lotus scroll, below further lotus scroll incorporating the characters 'shu' and 'fu' in the well. The bowl is covered overall with a pale bluish-white glaze.
4 5⁄8 in. (11.7 cm.) diam., cloth box
Provenance
The J. M. Hu (1911-1995), Zande Lou Collection.
Literature
Helen D. Ling and Edward T. Chow, Collection of Chinese Ceramics from the Pavilion of Ephemeral Attainment, vol. I, Hong Kong, 1950, no. 11.

Brought to you by

Rufus Chen (陳嘉安)
Rufus Chen (陳嘉安) Head of Sale, AVP, Specialist

Lot Essay


Cao Zhao, the distinguished antiquarian and collector from the late Yuan to early Ming period, wrote in his ground-breaking publication Ge gu yao lun (Essential Criteria of Antiquities), “…[among] the wares fired with low-relief decorations in the Yuan dynasty, the ones bearing ‘Shufu’ characters rank the highest.” The term Shufu usually refers to a type of glaze, luanbai (egg white) which is slightly more opaque than that of a qingbai glaze and is silky in texture, rather than glassy. The term derives from the characters shu and fu executed in low relief under the glaze found on some wares with this glaze, such as the present bowl. It is believed that wares with this mark were intended for use by a Yuan dynasty government department, the Shumiyuan, which is equated with a Privy Council.

Compare the similarly decorated Shufu bowl of this shape, also dated Yuan dynasty, illustrated in Porcelain Collected by Anhui Province Museum, Beijing, 2002, p. 113, pl. 95. See, also, another Shufu bowl of similar shape and size but with different floral scroll decoration, sold at Christie’s New York, 14-15 September 2017, lot 1174.

More from Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art

View All
View All