An accidental break spurs innovation

After a visitor picked up the bowl by the rim and two pieces broke off, Sun quickly consoled her. He then set about smoothing the broken edge into an attractive curving line and offsetting the void with a small nip out of the opposite side. By some stroke of good luck, neither the intricate painting of peonies in the center nor the three carved designs on the exterior were affected by the breaks.

Sun had traveled to Washington to participate in the 2014 China: Tradition and the Art of Living program. He is the fourth generation of his family to be involved with ceramics production in Jingdezhen, China—a famous center of porcelain production since the eleventh century. He is a surface decorator who paints and carves. The exquisitely thin bowl he carried to Washington to decorate was made by Yuan Lin Jiang.

The exterior of the bowl has three carved areas that carry auspicious meanings. The first design combines the Smithsonian Castle (lower right) with the Great Wall of China (winding up from the center), surrounded by “lucky clouds” as signs of good will. The other two are symbols of peace (a dove with an olive branch) and prosperity (a crane with a fish in its mouth).

Another Festival-specific aspect of the bowl is its surface finish. Porcelain from Jingdezhen is renowned for its whiteness and translucence—a result of firing at extremely high temperatures. Sun knew that no kiln in Washington could reach such heights, but accepted an offer to fire the piece because he knew it would not survive otherwise. The result is a firm structure with a non-glossy, bisque-like finish. If the bowl had been fired back home, the designs carved on the outside would be visible on the inside if held up to a light.

Nearly every aspect of this bowl is atypical. Yet it is also typical of a “Festival object” that has been shaped by the unique experience an artist has discussing and completing their work during the summertime program.