Vintage Chinese Blue White Ling Long Rice Grain Porcelain Soup Spoon 5"L

Chinese Ling Long (玲珑) "Rice Grain" Porcelain Soup Spoon, Blue and White

China, Jingdezhen, 20th century (vintage)

This is a Chinese porcelain soup spoon in the ling long (玲珑), or "rice grain," technique: tiny rice-grain-shaped perforations are cut into the unfired clay and filled with clear glaze, becoming translucent windows once fired. The bowl is decorated in underglaze blue with a honeycomb border and a floral medallion, with a band of rice-grain windows framing the rim.

Ling long porcelain traces back to the Sui and Tang dynasties at kilns near Fengcheng, Jiangxi, reaching its finest expression in the Ming dynasty's Yongle-era imperial kilns and continuing under Qing production. Jingdezhen remained the primary production center into the late 20th century, when rice grain wares shifted from rare fine porcelain to widely available tableware; reduced government support since has made the labor-intensive technique increasingly uncommon.

Five available at time of listing.

Form: Chinese porcelain soup spoon, ling long (rice grain) technique
Construction or Decoration: Underglaze blue honeycomb border and floral medallion; pierced rice-grain windows filled with clear glaze
Mark:
Period: 20th century (vintage), Jingdezhen, China
Dimensions: ~5″L (13 cm)
Weight:
Condition: A few small dark specks/kiln inclusions visible in the glaze at the rice-grain windows (see photos); otherwise good, no chips or cracks.