Cizhou kilns
Small Dish with Aquatic Motif
Early 13th century
Physical Qualities
Stoneware with white slip and overglaze red, green, and yellow enamel decoration, 1 5/8 × 6 3/4 in. (4.1 × 17.1 cm.)
Credit Line
Julius Levy Memorial Fund
Object Number
1997.29
The Cizhou kilns in northern China were the first to decorate high-fired wares with colorful, lead-fluxed glazes, which are also called enamels. The addition of
lead oxide lowered the melting temperature of enamels, which could not survive
high temperatures. This dish was covered with slip and transparent glaze
before its first firing. It was then decorated with lead glazes, and fired again at a
lower temperature—a process similar to that used for the most expensive Tang
dynasty (618–907) glazed mortuary wares.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by purchase, 1997; J.J. Lally & Co., New York
Collection installation, "Asia. Artistic Innovation & Exchange", Levy Gallery, Baltimore Museum of Art, October 5, 2023-
Frances Klapthor, 'In the Spotlight,' BMA Today, December-January, 1997-98, ill.
Inscribed: None
On View: Levy Gallery 1, Case 01/B
