Overview

This is a flat bowl, the lip of which goes outward to maximize the inside area. The rough grained clay material is light yellow with a slight red tinge. It was coated first in white, then covered with a transparent glaze, and the actual design is painted mainly in red. Soft yellow color comes from an oxidized flame. Two red peonies and green glazed leaves inside are painted with strong, rhythmical strokes and fired in a low temperature. The lower part of the outside is not glazed and the foot is not high. This way of painting, “Sung Chi-hui” is the oldest color painting method in China; there are some examples with the dates of Qinhe and Zhengda Periods in the Jin Dynasty. These ceramics are considered to have been made in the kilns of Ci-zhou ware in the Tangyin-xian in Henan, and the remains of the kilns in Pa Village in Yu-xian, Qu-he in Denfeng, Bayizhen in Gaoping-xian in Shanxi and De-zhou city in Shandon.