A pair of ritual bowls, cobalt blue pattern ceramic, in the reign of Quang Trung, Tay Son dynasty (1789-1792 AD.), Bat Trang, Gia Lam district, Hanoi
A pair of ritual bowls, cobalt blue pattern ceramic, in the reign of Quang Trung, Tay Son dynasty (1789-1792 AD.), Bat Trang, Gia Lam district, Hanoi.
These bowls were made in Bat Trang village. Both have the same size and style, with a thick core and cracked white glaze decorated with cobalt blue patterns. The bowl has a flared mouth, curved body, short and large base. At the bottom of the base there are Chinese characters that read “Quang Trung nien tao” (made in the reign of Quang Trung (1789-1792). On one side of the body, there is a line of characters which say in Vietnamese “vị xuất địa đầu tiên hữu tiết” (just arisen from the ground showing the character of a hero man), and on the other side is a bush of green bamboo trees standing straight upwards. This image symbolizes people of noble character who share similar characteristics with green bamboos, which grow straight right after sprouting from the soil.