Bowl with Lotus Design, Northern Song Dynasty (960-1129). Porcelain, incised decoration under ivory glaze (Ding ware); copper rim. Height: 5.7 cm; Rim (Diameter): 20.6 cm; Base (Diameter): 4.4 cm. Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey, 1927.47 © Toledo Museum of Art

Elegant and refined, Ding ware porcelain was prized at the Northern Song court in China for its thinness and creamy ivory glazes. Lotus blossoms and scrolling stems decorate the interior of this Ding ware bowl. The design was incised into the thin porcelain before it was glazed and fired upside down, standing on its rim, to prevent distortion of the vessel’s form. A copper band covers the unglazed rim.