A finely carved 'Longquan' celadon-glazed conical 'lotus' bowl, Early Southern Song dynasty

The present combination of expressive free-spirited carving and a rich luminous glaze is typical of the earliest wares produced at Longquan for the nascent Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279). Compare a bowl of closely related lotus design included in Ye Yingting, ed., Zhongguo gu taoci [Chinese ancient ceramics]. Longquan yao, Beijing, 2013, pl. 65; another uncovered from the Longquan kiln site at Jincun, illustrated in Longquan qingci yanjiu [Study on Longquan ceramics], Beijing, 1989, pl. 5.4; and two other early Southern Song bowls with similar carving treatment featuring decorations of lotus petals and clouds in the Zhejiang Provincial Museum, Hangzhou, illustrated in Zhu Boqian, ed., Celadons from Longquan Kilns, Taipei, 1998, pls 89 and 90.