Page 293 - CHRISTIE'S Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art 09/14 - 15 / 17

1178
A TIANBAI ANHUA-DECORATED BOWL

YONGLE PERIOD (1403-1425)
The bowl is incised on the exterior with a continuous foral leafy scroll beneath a band of key fret at the rim,
and on the interior with foral sprays in the central medallion surrounded by radiating vertical ribs in well, all
under a clear ‘sweet-white’ glaze which also covers the base.
8¡ in. (21.2 cm.) diam.
$40,000-60,000
The distinctive tianbai ‘sweet white’ glaze seen on the present bowl appears to have frst been used
on fne imperial porcelains of the Yongle reign. Indeed, it is porcelains with this type of glaze that
predominate among the fnds from the early Yongle stratum at Jingdezhen. The ‘sweet white’ glaze
is quite diferent from earlier white glazes as it contains a mass of very tiny bubbles. These have two
main efects. Firstly, some of them burst on the surface of the glaze leaving minute holes, like pin-
pricks, which give the glaze a slight ‘orange-peel’ efect, and makes it appear glossy, rather than glassy.
Secondly the tiny bubbles held within the glaze refract and scatter the light, giving the glaze a soft,
lustrous, appearance that has been likened to white jade. The body of these tianbai porcelains was also
very fne and white, and could be fred at a high temperature which enhanced its translucency. Such
porcelains seem to have especially appealed to the Emperor Yongle, who was known for his love of
white, and who on one occasion rejected most of the gifts ofered to him but retained only those items
made of white jade.
The decoration, known as anhua (‘secret decoration’), which was also an innovation of the Yongle
period, was achieved by incising the design with a very fne point into the body, beneath the glaze.
Such decoration is almost invisible from a distance, but was intended to be appreciated only by those
fortunate enough to examine the piece at close quarters.
A very similar Yongle tianbai bowl, from the Falk Collection, was sold at Christie’s New York,
20 September 2001, lot 133.
明永樂 甜白暗花花卉紋盌

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