Ru Ware Lotus-shaped Bowl with Greenish-blue Glaze (汝窯青瓷蓮花式碗)

Northern Song Dynasty, 960–1127

Height: 10.4 cm, depth: 7.6 cm, rim diameter: 16.2 cm, base diameter: 8.0 cm

National Palace Museum, Taipei

       This ten-lobed lotus bowl has gently curved sides, a subtly flaring rim, smooth transition from one petal lobe to the next, and a relatively tall ring foot. The blue-green glaze, from rim to the base, is uniformly thin and opaque, with fine crackling. During firing, this piece was supported by five tiny points underneath the ring foot, and these are the only parts of the body not covered by the glaze. The unglazed ceramic body is grayish-yellow in color. The lotus shape was not only a classical Song dynasty shape, but also highly favored by the Koreans, becoming a popular vessel type among Koryo celadons.