White-glazed Bowl, Ding Ware

With a copper-rimmed wide mouth, deep, bow-shaped belly and a ring foot, the bowl has an offwhite glaze. It has several glaze drips that look like tear stains.
Cao Zhao, a connoisseur of the Ming dynasty, remarked in his book on connoisseurship, Discussing Antiquities Case by Case (Ko Ku Yao Lun) “old Ding ware always has tear stains on the exterior, otherwise they are fake”. The tear stain is a natural phenomenon during firing of the porcelain. Transparent glazes melt at a high temperature and flow vertically because of gravity. They become a wax-tear or glass-bead bulge where the glaze mass, which makes them look like tear stains. These marks are one of the most typical characteristics of white-glazed Ding ware.