ED197 – Underglaze red dragon bowl Ming period with Xuande mark 15th century

Description

Dimension: 20.6cm Diameter, 8,4cm Height
Description:
This splendid underglaze copper red bowl with heavy potting has a flaring mouth rim stemmed from a round foot that is glazed overall with thick unctuous glaze with slight bluish tinge and an ‘orange-peel’ effect, painted with two 5-clawed dragons on the external cavetto among scrolls of lotus flowers and its foliage, the center well is painted with rising ruyi-shaped clouds in a double circle, and the internal mouth rim with classic scroll, the foot base written with six character mark Da Ming Xuan De Xian Chi in cobalt blue in a double circle
Underglaze copper red is a very difficult element to fire on due to the small temperature tolerance, in this case the color turned out in excellent blood ruby red and spreading into the surrounding clear glaze making the motif smudgy and thickly applied, and the glaze surface is uneven where the underglaze copper red is applied. Another colored element is used on the mark is imported cobalt where ‘heap-and-pile’ is observed that turned blackish where pooled and appear sunken into the glaze.
The off white paste of this piece is rather fine on the exposed foot rim where minute kiln grit can be seen on a 1000x magnification. The clear glaze covers the overall except the foot rim with a tinge of bluish or greenish tone and is thickly applied leaving a textured and waxy feel on the surface.
Provenance:  Acquired from an experienced 80 year-old diver cum collector in West Java