Dimensions: Height: 7 cm Wide 15,8 cm Depth 15,8 cm
Weight: 378,5 grams

The bowl is finely potted with rounded sides rising from a short straight foot to a slightly flared rim. The exterior and interior are covered with a rich and even yellow glaze of luminous tone, stopping neatly at the footring. The base is inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character Guangxu mark arranged in two vertical lines.

Yellow-glazed wares were closely associated with imperial use, particularly from the Ming dynasty onwards, where the colour symbolised earth in the Five Elements (wuxing) and was reserved for the emperor. In the Qing period, bowls of this type continued the tradition, used for both daily imperial service and ritual contexts within the Forbidden City.

Symbolism: In the Qing dynasty, the colour yellow carried profound political and ritual significance. As the hue associated with the centre in Chinese cosmology, it embodied stability, harmony, and the Mandate of Heaven. Its exclusive use by the emperor reinforced the central authority of the throne and the sacred nature of imperial rule. Yellow-glazed porcelain, therefore, was not simply decorative, but a potent emblem of sovereignty and legitimacy.

The present example reflects the refined craftsmanship of the Guangxu imperial kilns at Jingdezhen, where strict attention was paid to the purity of glaze tone and the precision of the reign mark.