Less Than Perfect

Less Than Perfect

Capturing a Bubble of Air

Yue Ware Bowl
  • Yue Ware bowl waster
  • Celadon glazed stoneware
  • Zhejiang Province, China, Tang Dynasty, 618-907 CE
  • Plumer Collection, UMMAA 47595
Map

Air bubbles trapped in the body of this small glazed bowl expanded as temperatures rose during firing. The bowl did not explode. Instead, the moment of expansion was preserved in the "blisters" on this 1,200-year-old waster.