Pair of Qingbai Ware Bowls with Covers
Unknown Artist
1100s–1200s
Medium
Porcelain with pale bluish-white (qingbai; 青白) glaze; silver mount
Dimensions
12.5 × 15.5 cm
Classification
Ceramic
Department
Chinese Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley Collection Gift
Accession Number
2020.173
About this artwork
While dark-glazed ceramics resemble black lacquer ware, and celadons were often compared to green jade, white or bluish-white glazed stoneware imitates silver. Here, broad silver bands around the bowls’ rims accentuate their precious appearance. The incised petals are inspired by lotus flowers and the domed covers by their circular leaves. The lotus motif often indicates the use of an object in a Buddhist context, in which it is a symbol of purity as its flowers emerge unsullied from the mud of ...