Asian Arts | Associations | Articles | Exhibitions | Galleries | Message Board

These are the pics of my bowl. It is 7" in diameter. The color is off-white. The unglazed rim is tan colored. Thanks for looking at them for me.


bill

Bill,

Your piece does look like it was fired on the rim. Color distortions are difficult, but what do you mean by 'off-white'?

Is it creamy, grayish, bluish?

The molded design is in higher relief than I would expect in a Song Dynasty piece.

If yours is a creamy or slightly yellowish-tan color, is it translucent to very strong light? If so, what color does the light coming through look like?

Does the reflection on the back indicate a pretty brilliant, very smooth glaze? Does the surface look completely homogeneous and uniform?

Here's an example of typical molded design in a Song period qingbai dish. It's a poor quality down-and-dirty scan, but gives some indication for comparison.

Best regards,
Judy

Hi Judy,

Even though I have been a gemologist for 32 years, my eyesight is going downhill, but here goes:
Color is creamy.
The relief is lower than the pic because of the way the sunlight was at an angle when the pic was taken. In lower light, you can barely make out the design.
Glaze is brilliant, smooth and uniform. Is this good or bad?
Surface is uniform except some small pits which have become reddish brown in firing.

Thanks again.

bill

Dear Bill,

A yellowish creamy color and the type of molded decoration you show plus an unglazed portion of the lip is meant to suggest Song Dynasty Dingyao.

*Contra*-indications are lack of translucency (you don't answer this question) and a brilliant smooth glaze.

It's important to find out whether this is translucent to strong light.

For the time being I will assume it is not. And one more question: when pinged with a finger, does it ring like modern porcelain?

I also find it of interest that on the bowl exterior the glaze appears to go right up to the lip, and the unglazed part is only on the interior. Is this so?

I have seen modern stoneware, coated with a creamy slip, then with a high-gloss glassy glaze. It rings beautifully, is not translucent, and does not display true Dingyao glaze character.
It is good quality ware, occasionally mistaken for Dingyao just because of color and decoration style. But new.

Best regards,
Judy

Judy,
I have been doing some research since reading your very interesting questions.
First, when pinged, it rings like a bell. But, I have found references that state the thinner Song pieces ring as well.
Translucency. I'm not sure what the term means in this context. As a gemologist, it has to do with light that transits an object on the scale: opaque, translucent, transparent.
I have found references talking about the glaze being translucent, which makes no sense, since the glaze is transparent. Then I found references talking about the body being translucent, which does make sense. But, it will be affected by the thickness and the clay mix. Then I found out that the clay mix varied EVEN WITHING THE SAME KILN FIRING, depending on how they placed the items to accomodate the different levels of heat. They would actually change the composition of the clay to accomodate the different temperatures. Sounds compulsive-obsessive to me. But they were good.
Anyway, my bowl is opaque.
The glaze goes all the way up to the rim on the outsided.

Thanks again,

bill

Dear Bill,

The matter of translucence can be one of degree. True enough, some Song dingyao is more such than others. Some only allows transmittance of a very strong light, and the light coming through appears orangey.

One of the Dingyao simulations I've seen, like yours, had the glaze wiped from the lip on the inside only. This is not consistent with Song true Dingyao, in which the lip was bare on both sides because the glaze on the upside-down dish would tend to drip lip-ward on both sides.

Song dingyao will 'ding' a little when pinged with a finger, assuming it has been well fired and not cracked, but won't continue to ring like intact porcelain or like the modern simulation I've been talking about.

If you've been reading up you will have found that the main run of Song Dingyao has a glaze that appears a bit matte or even sugary, and has a tendency to little drips on the surface.

Whereas the modern simulation appears completely uniform with a bright-shiny overall surface.

The simulation I remember had molded peony sprays done in a manner unlike any Song Dingyao.

The molded design on yours doesn't look like anything I am familiar with.

The simulations may be made in China for utilitarian use, reminiscent of much older ware. It may be that only the occasional ignorant or crafty dealer will say or believe these are the old ware. They are not similar to Dingyao in any but the most superficial ways (approximate color, having a molded design), and would not have been made as a Dingyao fake.

Best regards,
Judy

Judy,

Did the new examples you saw have a glazed foot?

Bill

Asian Arts | Associations | Articles | Exhibitions | Galleries | Message Board