| Description |
This dish was very thinly potted, having a flat base and a six-lobed mouth rim. The whole surface, except for the center of the interior and the foot, is covered with carved floral scroll decoration in the katagiri-bori technique in which the carving was done by holding the knife at an angle so that the outline can be emphasized. A similar example has been found at the Silongkou kiln site in Cixi City, Zhejiang Province, unveiling the fact that this piece was a product of the Yue kilns in the early Southern Song dynasty. In the cities of Hangzhou and Shaoxing, a shard of a similar piece with an inscription yuchu (royal kitchen) in the interior of the foot ring has been discovered, suggesting that this type was one of the dinner wares of the early Southern Song court. Since some of the early Southern Song pieces excavated from the Silongkou kiln site have a Guan ware-type form, this kiln was probably producing ceremonial wares and other various vessels and dishes for the court. |
