Bowl
18th century
Medium
Porcelain with Sang de Boeuf glaze.
Dimensions
Diameter: 6 3/8 in. (16.2 cm.)
Classification
Ceramics
Culture
Chinese
Department
Robert Lehman Collection
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
Accession Number
1975.1.1680
Art Historical Context
This elegant 18th-century Chinese porcelain, measuring 6 3/8 inches in, exemplifies the masterful ceramic traditions of the Qing dynasty. Produced likely in Jingdezhen, China's renowned porcelain capital, it features the striking Sang de Boeuf—a flambé effect prized for its deep, oxblood-red hue that mimics the color of boiled ox blood. The glaze's crimson tones, often accented by subtle crackling and flashes of lighter shades, result from complex high-temperature firing techniques in wood-fired kilns, where copper oxide created unpredictable yet mesmerizing flows. Artistically, Sang de Boeuf...
About the Artist
Chinese
The artist known simply as "Chinese" in museum records represents the vast tradition of anonymous or unattributed masters in Chinese art history, with 99 works preserved in our collection. These pieces exemplify the enduring legacy of guó huà, or traditional Chinese painting, one of the world's oldest continuous artistic practices. Early life is not well documented, as is common for many practitio...