Bulb Bowl
Unknown Artist
early 1400s
Medium
porcelaneous stoneware, numbered Jun ware
Dimensions
h. 8 cm · diam. 23.5 cm
Classification
Ceramic
Department
Chinese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
1957.33
About this artwork
Numbered Jun ware is inscribed with a number on its bottom—in this case number "two"—and is thought to have been made initially for the early Ming imperial court. The number indicates size, with "one" being the largest and "ten" being the smallest. Another characteristic is the "earthworm trail" left on the glaze surface, seen on the interior of this bulb bowl, where the opalescent blue glaze has cracked in several places during firing. The rich purplish tone on the exterior is the result of usi...