Wine Jar
1567-1572 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This thickly potted jar was originally made for storing wine, but jars of this type were often used by later collectors for holding picture scrolls. It is made of white porcelain and is painted with underglaze cobalt blue with a repeating pattern of pairs of phoenix and five-clawed dragons. The phoenix is symbolic of the empress and the five-clawed dragon is symbolic of the emperor. The use of these motifs on this jar, which dates to the reign of the Lonqing emperor (1567-72) of the Ming dynasty (1366-1644), and the six character reign mark on the base suggest that it was made for the Imperial household. Jars of this size were very difficult to produce, often collapsing during firing: perfect examples like this one were therefore highly valued.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Porcelain painted in underglaze cobalt blue |
| Brief description | Cer, China, Ming, blue and white wine jar |
| Physical description | Thickly potted jar of broad based globular form, with short, wide neck. It is white porcelain painted with underglaze cobalt blue with a repeating pattern of pairs of phoenix shaped into large medallions and dragons in decorative bands around the shoulder and the base. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Styles | |
| Production type | Mass produced |
| Marks and inscriptions | Six character reign mark inside a double roundel on the base of the jar: 'Da Ming Lonqing nian zhi'.
|
| Gallery label |
|
| Credit line | Bushell Gift |
| Historical context | A similar jar, probably its pair is in the Bristol City Art Gallery (No. N5539): this was exhibited at the Oriental Ceramic Society Exhibitions 'Ceramic Art of China', 1971, Cat. no. 174, and 'Arts of the Ming Dynasty', 1957, no.142, and illustrated in the catalogue of the former. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This thickly potted jar was originally made for storing wine, but jars of this type were often used by later collectors for holding picture scrolls. It is made of white porcelain and is painted with underglaze cobalt blue with a repeating pattern of pairs of phoenix and five-clawed dragons. The phoenix is symbolic of the empress and the five-clawed dragon is symbolic of the emperor. The use of these motifs on this jar, which dates to the reign of the Lonqing emperor (1567-72) of the Ming dynasty (1366-1644), and the six character reign mark on the base suggest that it was made for the Imperial household. Jars of this size were very difficult to produce, often collapsing during firing: perfect examples like this one were therefore highly valued. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | FE.111-1975 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | December 3, 2008 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
