Song Dynasty Porcelain

en:Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD) Chinese qingbai en:porcelain items:

Left item: A Northern Song qingbai-ware vase with a transparent blue-toned glaze, from Jingdezhen, made in the 11th century.

Center item: A Northern or Southern Song qingbai-ware bowl with incised lotus decorations, a metal rim, and a transparent blue-toned glaze, from Jingdezhen, made in the 12th or 13th century.

Right item: A Southern Song miniature model of a storage granary, qingbai porcelain with transparent blue-toned glaze, from Jingdezhen, made in the 13th century. Both the top lid and doorway are removable. The written inscription above the model's doorway reads "Storehouse of the Five Grains," in reference to the ancient Five Grains in early Chinese history that included sesamum, legumes, wheat, panicled millet, and glutinous millet; rice was excluded from this, since the earliest Chinese had not yet cultivated southern China (where they eventually discovered the food staple of rice). However, the "Storehouse of the Five Grains" is simply a phrase to reflect or symbolize the abundance in harvest of all types of grains.

From the Freer and Sackler Galleries of Washington D.C.

• Author: en:User:PericlesofAthens
• Date: August 3, 2007