A White-glazed DING Lobed Ewer and a Bowl

The ewer and the bowl come in a set. The lid is decorated with a wavy edge, and caved in the centre with a knob sitting within. Below the lid is moulded with an everted ring foot joint to attach to the ewer’s opening. The ewer has a flared mouth, and a tightened neck carved with two horizontal embossed rings and double-layered short base at the bottom; its ten-lobed belly appears as a vivid standing melon, with round shoulder, a flat bottom and a foot ring. A curved spout is attached to the shoulder; and a curved striphandle is pasted to the neck and the shoulder. The bowl is with a flared opening and a sloping wall, a round bottom supported on a slightly splayed foot ring; it’s built in a six-lobed flower shape, with a coarse rim, deep and fuller body. The two wares are all covered in white glaze, leaving the bottom and the foot ring exposed; the un-glazed rim is the result of the unique inverted piling method while being baked in the kiln.

The ewer, also known as “pitcher”, “pouring pot”, was seen among celadon wares early in the Southern and Northern Dynasties; then later, appeared in gold and silver wares in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. From the Five Dynasties to the Northern Song Dynasty, the ewer commonly came with a bowl (to maintain the temperature of the liquid in the ewer), also known as “pitcher’s bowl”.