Bowl with garlanded mouth

This piece displays a decorative technique used on basin shapes in Hebei, Henan, and Shaanxi (KGWW 1994.4: 85-7) from the ninth-tenth century in which a garland was hand-carved on a widely built mouth. A similar ding piece sitting on a tall pedestal with a indented rim from a Five Dynasties site is probably a special utensil for use on a Buddhist altar (CGK Zenshu 1981 vol. 9: pl. 9). The shape continued into the Liao (WWZLCK 1978 vol. II: 131, fig. 8) and early Song dynasties in the north. Its unrefined clay demonstrates the existence of a coarse northern white-glazed ware.