.14th/15th Century Blue and White Bowl

Early Ming - Southern Kiln

15 centimeters diameter, 5.5 centimeters height

Fair Condition

Heavily potted with a thick, creamy glaze.  This is considered minyao (common ware). This is a good example of early Ming from a southern kiln.  Aside from the obvious signs of age and wear, it displays some very good characteristics that often accompany authentic early Ming pieces.

The body is more dense and porous, bordering on that of clay pottery than that of porcelain. There are two reasons for this. The kaolin (primary clay) and the baidunzi (glaze) is from a Southern China source and it was fired in an early wood kiln at a lower temperature.

This bowl also displays an unglazed circle on the inside and what is referred to as radiating 'chatter marks' on the underside of the unglazed foot.  

The unglazed circle is often seen on earlier Song and Yuan wares and is a result of stacking pieces in the kiln for firing. You will not find this on finer pieces or on Imperial ware.  The glaze was wiped off so the pieces wouldn't stick together during firing.  The size of the unglazed ring will usually be commensurate with the foot of the piece, often showing a small amount of glaze that ran down from the stacked piece above.

The chatter-marks on the unglazed foot are caused by the tool used to remove (scoop out) the clay of the foot. They are not caused by tool vibration in removing the piece from the potters wheel as most literature leads one to believe.  Later pieces with glazed footing will sometimes have these visible beneath the glaze, though very slight.

The decoration is three roughly drawn lotus blooms on a vine.

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