A Celadon-glazed GE Square Dish with Cusped Corners
Southern Song Dynasty
- KILN:GE Kiln
- PERIOD:Southern Song Dynasty
- DIMENSIONS:Height 3.3 cm, Rim Diameter 17 cm, Foot Diameter 8.5 cm
Introduction
Shaped precisely in square form with cusped corners slightly curled up to present an eight-fold curve line, the dish has a round bottom and is attached to a straight foot ring. It is fully covered in celadon glaze, only leaving its black biscuit exposed at foot bottom. Crackles of varied sizes crawl over the glaze coating in a beautiful natural arrangement, reflecting the concept raised by Su Shi, that“to follow the rules of the nature, and to avoid any deliberate arrangement”.
The glaze coating of GE kiln wares features: first, mostly with a thick layer of pale blue, or greyish blue, or puffed-rice yellow colour glaze with larger crackles in dark grey and smaller crackles in light yellow woven together, known as“gold threads and iron lines”; second, a purple-black biscuit which becomes visible along the rim due to its liquidity while being heated into molten state and exposed at the foot bottom to prevent adhesion between the bottom and the spacer, known as“purple opening and iron-black foot bottom”; third, small bubbles densely yielded in the glaze coating to present a texture of jade and crispness, known as the“gathering of foam and pearl”; the first feature is exclusive to the GE wares, while the latter two are shared by GUAN wares as well.
