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Bowl

15th century

Vietnam

Stoneware painted with underglaze cobalt blue

H. 2 5/8 x Diam. 9 5/8 in. (6.7 x 24.4 cm)

Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.97

Although the peony in the interior of this bowl is a Chinese motif, its placement as the central medallion is distinctly Vietnamese; peonies on Chinese ceramics are more likely to occupy the horizontal register on vases. The base of the bowl is covered with a chocolate-brown mixture of clay and water, or slip. The covering of the bottom of a ceramic piece in this fashion is found on wares from Vietnam and Thailand, but has no technical explanation and the purpose of this slip remains unclear. The choice may have reflected aesthetic preferences, or it may have served a more practical function. For example, the brown base may have served to differentiate vessels used in religious or other types of ceremonies from those used in more mundane settings or it may have been a potter's mark or possibly a counting symbol of some sort.