Great bowl of the Cizhou Furnaces. China, Yuan Dynasty (1279 - 1368 A.D.)

Great bowl of the Cizhou Furnaces. China, Yuan dynasty (1279 - 1368 AD).
Beige stoneware.
It has a crack.
Measurements: 30.2 cm (diameter).

Large cream-colored bowl decorated with dark engobe of branches and foliage. Jizhou pottery and porcelain originated in Jiangxi province. The best known wares are simple stoneware forms, with a strong emphasis on subtle effects in glazed ceramics. In the Song dynasty they achieved great prestige, especially among Buddhist monks and for use in tea drinking.

During the Yuan dynasty a rich cultural diversity developed. The main cultural achievements were the development of the theater and the novel and the increased use of the written vernacular. Arts and culture also developed and flourished greatly during the Yuan dynasty. The political unity of China and much of Central Asia promoted trade between East and West. The extensive contacts of the Mongols with Western Asia and Europe produced a great deal of cultural exchange. The other cultures and peoples of the Mongol Empire also greatly influenced China. It had greatly facilitated exchange and trade throughout Asia until its decline; communications between the Yuan dynasty and its ally and subordinate in Persia, the Ilkhanate, fostered this development. Buddhism had a great influence on Yuan rule, and Tantric Buddhism of the Tibetan rite had greatly influenced China during this period.