Stemcup, China early 14th century, Yuan dynasty, "Qingbai" porcelain. Musée Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbonne.

Detail. Stemcup, China, Yuan dynasty, beginning of the 14th century, Porcelain covered with blue glaze, Quin´bai. H. 10; Diam. Rim 9.5 cm. Inv.° 2372. Musée Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbonne. © 2013 Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian

Bowl with double walls with four foliate panels where holy personages from the Taoist religion stand out in relief under bamboo leaves, framed by a fine rope of pearls that accentuates the lobed edge and is repeated in the interior. Partially translucid, it is covered with bluish glaze, described by the term qingbai (literally “blue-white”) and more recently, yingqing (“shadow-blue”).

The piece comes from the kilns at Jingdezhen, that with the introduction of underglaze cobalt blue painting became the most outstanding centre for the manufacture of Chinese porcelain, a distinction that it has maintained to the present day.

Provenance: Henry Brown Esq. collection. Acquired by Calouste Gulbenkian, through M. Knoedler & Co., Ltd, at Henry Brown’s sale, Sotheby's, London, March 25th, 1947 (no. 21).

(Text: © 2013 Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian)