Alms bowl
8th-9th century
Description
Large hemispherical bowl with wide mouth, lightly inverted lip, and sides tapering inward to a rounded base—a Buddhist alms bowl (Sanskrit: pātra; Chinese bo); blackened earthenware coated with a slip solution containing clay, carbon, and gypsum and polished to a high gloss after firing.
Dimensions
H. 12.8 x Diam. 23.3 cm (5 1/16 x 9 3/16 in.)
Provenance
[J.J. Lally & Co., New York, July 2001] sold; to Walter C. Sedgwick Foundation, Woodside, CA (2000-2006), partial gift; to Harvard University Art Museums, 2006.
Related Artworks
View MoreEarthenware, slip-covered and burnished, with decoration painted in gold and silver and stamped
19th-20th centuryOttoman
Glass
20th centuryAustrianLight gray stoneware with kiln-blackened surface
12th-14th centuryKoreanTerracotta
2nd-3rd century CERomanBlack painted under turquoise glaze
20th centuryAmericanStoneware
20th centuryBritish, EnglishNumbered Jun ware: light gray stoneware with variegated purple and blue glaze; with Chinese numeral 3 (san) inscribed on base before firing
15th centuryChineseMetal
17th centuryItalianPorcelain
Qingbai ware: porcelain with pale sky-blue glaze over incised and carved decoration
12th centuryChineseQingbai-type ware: off-white or gray stoneware with pale sky-blue glaze over applique decoration.
13th centuryChinese