This wide-rimmed bowl has a pale-green celadon glaze. The base has a wash of chocolate brown slip (a liquid clay mix). This may have been an attempt to copy the orange-brown bases of Chinese wares. The celadon glaze and form were attributes that had Chinese origins and many of these types of wares took their inspiration from the southern Chinese celadon tradition. Celadon is a French term taken from the character of a shepherd in a 17th century play, who wore a green costume. The term refers to green-glazed wares, where naturally occurring iron oxide reacts to the lack of oxygen during firing in the glaze by turning green.Stonewares such as this bowl were produced in north Vietnam around the 14th century, a time when ceramics for export were made in increasing quantities.
