Flat-Handled Bowl

Yue Kiln, Eastern Han Dynasty, 25-220 AD
Southern Song Imperial Kiln Museum, Hangzhou

The Yue Kiln sites, located in Zhejiang province near Shanglin Lake, have been submitted for World Heritage status (as of 2009). According to the UNESCO listing, this is where porcelain was (probably) invented.

I am not at all certain of the rationale behind the (English translation of) the museum's label. As far as I can see, this is simply a generic dipper or cup for hot liquids: water, wine, perhaps even soup. Compare the gold bowl at Zhejiang Provincial Museum.