Qingbai ware
Look at the edge of a pale bowl: the glossy wall meets a narrow, bare rim, while the foot reveals the body beneath. Qingbai, “bluish white”, is easier to understand through these boundaries than through a colour name alone.
On this page
Start at the rim and foot#
In Ancient Chinese Tea Wares, no. 46 is a shallow bowl with a wide mouth and a small ring foot. The catalogue dates it to the Northern Song and records height 4.3 cm and mouth diameter 13.2 cm. It describes glaze removed from both sides of the mouthrim and bare patches near the foot showing a buff body. These are features of this recorded bowl, not a checklist for every Qingbai object. No. 46, printed pp. 130–131 / PDF 137–138
Begin with three observations: where the glaze ends, what the exposed body looks like, and how the wall meets the foot. Qingbai names a ceramic category associated with a pale body and blue-white glaze. The University of Hong Kong museum discusses its production at Jingdezhen and its varied forms; that background does not locate the kiln of another bowl from its colour alone. HKU collection record
Follow the lines beneath the glaze#
The same catalogue’s no. 45 adds incised fish and waves inside a bowl. The paired photographs show its profile and interior; they are two views of one object. The incised design belongs to the body under the glaze, so look for lines within the pale field rather than expecting painted contrast. The catalogue dates this bowl to the Northern Song. No. 45, printed pp. 128–129 / PDF 135–136
For a distinct example, UMMA1971/2.84 is described by the University of Michigan Museum of Art as a thin conical Qingbai bowl with an incised fenghuang and an unglazed rim, dated to the Southern Song. Its record proposes that a copper or silver band once finished the rim. Keep that reconstruction separate from a surviving metal fitting. UMMA collection record
One ware, more than one form#
No. 44 is a covered jar, shown with its lid seated and then removed. The catalogue dates it to the Southern Song and records height 6.2 cm and mouth diameter 7.4 cm. Its glaze stops above the roughly finished foot, exposing a white body. A covered jar and an open bowl can therefore share the Qingbai classification without sharing a function. No. 44, printed pp. 126–127 / PDF 133–134
The catalogue suggests that the jar probably held powdered tea. That is a proposed use, not a finding from residues or a documented service. Its lid and opening are visible, but the photographs do not establish an airtight seal or a measured capacity. Nor does a lid make it a gaiwan for brewing.
What would establish its use?#
For no. 46, the catalogue proposes using a stand to support the small-footed bowl during tea preparation. No matching stand is illustrated or identified. This is a useful question about support, not proof of an original pair or a universal rule for Qingbai bowls. No. 46: the catalogue’s interpretation
The three catalogue objects are recorded as transmitted pieces rather than with excavated contexts. Describe their rim, foot, glaze boundary and decoration first; then ask for a collection record, find context or documented use to support a stronger identification. The photographs clarify form, while the source explains how confidently a function can be named.
Sources#
- 中國古代茶具展 / Ancient Chinese Tea Wares, Hong Kong Museum of Art, 1994
- University of Michigan Museum of Art: Bowl, 1971/2.84
- 香港大學美術博物館 / University Museum and Art Gallery, HKU: Bowl
Status and editorial notes sources cited
Sources are listed below. Their presence does not certify every claim; source-specific interpretations and unresolved questions are identified in the text. This page has not received independent expert approval.