A RARE STRAW-GLAZED MARBLED BOWL

YUAN DYNASTY (1279-1368)

Details

A RARE STRAW-GLAZED MARBLED BOWL
YUAN DYNASTY (1279-1368)
The bowl is with rounded sides rising from the broad foot ring to a slightly everted rim. It is decorated inside and out with a fine marbled pattern depicting six-petal florets. Each petal is detailed with wavy lines of a brown clay against a buff clay ground, radiating from a central stamen inlaid with a creamy-white clay. It is covered overall by a clear straw glaze, with the exception of the foot.
6 ¾ in. (17.3 cm.) diam., box

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Lot Essay

This decorative technique of marbling, by layering or folding together and then cutting two colours of clay, first appeared in the Tang dynasty and continued into the Song, Jin and Yuan periods and is based on the stylised waves created by mixing different coloured clays. Of note is the remarkable skill in which a pattern of florets is expressed so evenly and with such precision as on the present bowl. Compare a related bowl of floral blooms with multiple layers of petals below rows of overlapping leaves of similar size (diam. 16 cm.), also dated to the Yuan period, excavated in Shenmu county, Shaanxi province, and illustrated in Yang Peijun ed., Ceramics: Selected Treasures of Shaanxi History Museum, no. 111.

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