Project Description
This set of two painted porcelain bowls were created in the Jingdezhen province of China. These bowls feature a design of a Western dragon in blue glaze on the inside. The Western dragon is associated with anger and isolation, rather than strength and wisdom like its Eastern counterpart. The outside of the bowl is a hand-painted landscape depicting horses running. Also gracing the exterior of the bowl is the inscription “Reign of The Qianlong Emperor”. The Qianlong Emperor was the sixth emperor of China’s Qing Dynasty and under his rule the dynasty reached its most prosperous era, particularly in regards to the arts. As a result, China was flooded with poetic and ceramic art during his time in power. The Brights were Berea College alumni and spent a great deal of their adult lives doing missionary work in China. Many other pieces of art they collected, along with their travel journals, can be found in Berea College’s collections and archives.
-Charla Hamilton, Class of 2015