Song Qingbai Porcelain Box and Cover
A Song Dynasty (960-1279) Qingbai porcelain box and cover, 12th or 13th century. The moulded cover depicts two long necked birds flying towards each other with foliage behind. The side of the base and cover have a small gash incised when the glaze was wet, this shows that the cover is the correct one for the base.
See Below For More Photographs and References.
SOLD
- Condition
- In excellent condition, some minor light wear to the cover.
- Size
- Diameter : 8.4 cm (3 1/2 inches)
- Provenance
- From a Private Collection of Early Chinese Ceramics.
- Stock number
- 24951
Photos
Information
Qingbai Ware :
The earliest known qingbai wares were produced in Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province around the late 10th century and are characterized by faint pale-blue glazes on low, wide forms. Qingbai continued to be enormously popular and highly produced throughout the Song dynasty (960-1279) and was prevalent in the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368), but slackened during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) until being replaced by tianbai, ‘sweet white’ ware. The initial forms of qingbai were simple bowls and dishes, but by the mid-Northern Song the forms had advanced to include a wide variety of objects used for daily life such as ewers, boxes, incense burners, granary models, vases, jars, sculptures, cups, cupstands, water droppers, lamps, grave wares, and tools for writing and painting. The precedent for the majority of these forms is found in earlier metalwork and lacquer and Rawson has suggested that the imitation of silver was the primary force behind the production of white wares, including qingbai.