Model thumbnail 1
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ceramics, Room 137, The Curtain Foundation Gallery

Model

1650-1750 (made), early 20th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Model of a basket of nuts and seeds including a chestnut, water chestnut, walnut, water caltrop, dried lychee and peanuts, all realistically modelled in brown, red and buff clays, with touches of darker pigment. On the tiny lotus seed is the square seal 'He cun', which is one of the mark of the potter Chen Mingyuan, active in the Kangxi period.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Red stoneware, hand modelled
Brief description
Model of a group of nuts and seeds in a basket, coloured stoneware clays, mark of Chen Mingyuan, Yixing ware, China, 1650-1750 / early 20th century
Physical description
Model of a basket of nuts and seeds including a chestnut, water chestnut, walnut, water caltrop, dried lychee and peanuts, all realistically modelled in brown, red and buff clays, with touches of darker pigment. On the tiny lotus seed is the square seal 'He cun', which is one of the mark of the potter Chen Mingyuan, active in the Kangxi period.
Dimensions
  • Length: 11.5cm
  • Width: 11.0cm
Style
Marks and inscriptions
鶴邨 (Seal mark, alias of Chen Mingyuan)
Transliteration
He cun
Object history
With padded box, with label 'Chen Mingyuan woven cane'.

Historical significance: Chen Mingyuan excelled in making small naturalistic objects for the scholar's desk, and several loose nuts or groups of nuts are known. Nut teapots, using contrasting clays, are also common; but a basket of nuts by Chen has not previously been recorded.
Subjects depicted
Bibliographic references
  • Kerr, Rose "Yixing Wares in the V&A" in Orientations, Vol. 14, No. 10; October 1983, Fig. 16.
  • 'Documentary Chinese Works of Art in Scholar's Taste', from catalogue for the exhibiton and sale at Sydney L. Moss Ltd., London, 1983, No. 87.
Collection
Accession number
FE.19-1983

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Record createdAugust 23, 2005
Record URL
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