Accession Number
2005/2.88

Title
Bowl with Bird

Artist(s)
Chinese

Artist Nationality
Chinese (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
317-439

Medium & Support
glaze on stoneware

Dimensions
1 9/16 in x 3 15/16 in x 3 15/16 in (3.97 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Ping and Zenobia Lee

Subject matter
A shallow celadon mingqi (明器) (literally "bright objects") bowl with bird of the Eastern Jin dynasty (317-439).

Zhejiang yue celadon potters of the Eastern Jin dynasty continued the Han dynasty custom of making mingqi items to supply tombs with everything the deceased needed for the afterlife. Instead of creating full houses with courtyards and livestock pens. Yue potters adapted, simplified, and shrank livestock pens by creating shallow wheel thrown bowls and placing a single dog, goat, sheep or pig inside them.   

Physical Description
A shallow basin with a flat bottom and gently curved sides, a slightly inverted direct rim, and a central sculpted bird with outstreached wings.  It is covered in a gray-green celadon glaze.

Primary Object Classification
Ceramic

Primary Object Type
bowl

Additional Object Classification(s)
Ceramic

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form. Keywords
animal housing (farm structures)
architectural models
birds (motifs)
bowls (vessels)
celadon (glaze)
ceramic (material)
livestock
stoneware (pottery)