The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of September 26, 2023

Large Bowl with Molded Decoration

1300s–1400s

China, Zhejiang province, Longquan kilns, Ming dynasty

(1368-1644)

Porcelaneous stoneware

Overall: 15.1 x 42 cm (5 15/16 x 16 9/16 in.)

Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley Collection Gift 2020.188

Location

238 Chinese Ceramics

Fun Fact

Longquan celadon, or greenware, was often fired in dragon kilns, a type of narrow, sloped brick tunnel that could fire up to 25,000 pieces at a time.

Description

The lobed sides of this bowl open like a flower and rise to a solidly molded and pointed rim reminiscent of metalware. The bowl with a thick, shiny, jadelike green glaze was made by potters who mastered techniques to fire vessels of enormous sizes for the export market. Large bowls and plates were primarily shipped to the Middle East where they were used for banquets, in which food was traditionally offered in the center of a seated gathering.

Provenance
c. 1912–1918
Senator James Donald Cameron [1833–1918], bequest to his widow Elizabeth Sherman Cameron
1918–c. 1927
Elizabeth Sherman Cameron [1857–1955], given as a wedding present to private collector, Belgium 1
c. 1927–?
Private collection, Belgium, by descent to a grandchild
?–2014
Private collection, Belgium, to Vanderven Oriental Art
2014–2017
(Vanderven Oriental Art, 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, sold at TEFAF New York to Mr. and Mrs. Joseph P. Keithley)
2017–2020
Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley, Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
2020–
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Provenance Footnotes

1 A native of Mansfield, Ohio, Elizabeth Sherman Cameron was the niece of General William Tecumseh Sherman and Senator John Sherman. In 1878, Elizabeth married Senator J. Donald (Don) Cameron of Pennsylvania, a millionaire widower with six children who was more than 20 years her senior. She was considered one of the most fashionable salon hostesses in Washington, DC, and Paris. Her circle included great intellectuals and artists of the late 19th century, like Henry Adams, Edith Warton, and Augustus Saint-Guadens.
Citations
Medley, Margaret. The Chinese Potter: A Practical History of Chinese Ceramics. London, England: Phaidon Press Limited, 1989.
Exhibition history

Impressionism to Modernism: The Keithley Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 11, 2022-January 8, 2023).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2020.188