Bottle
Chinese
Description
Green-glazed wares, known in the West as “celadon” (after the name of a character in a French play who wore a costume of gray-green) form a large part of the Chinese repertoire of ceramics. This sturdy vase takes the shape of a lotus bud, with faintly incised petals circling the lower part of the vase. The lovely pale blue-green is but one of many colors possible in the celadon family of glazes.
Maribeth Graybill, Senior Curator of Asian Art
Exhibited in "Flora and Fauna in Chinese Art," April 6, 2002 - December 1, 2002.
Subject Matter:
A stoneware longquan celadon bottle-vase of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644).
Longquan is the most representative, widespread, and esteemed ware of the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279). Production started during the Five Dynasties period (907–960) at the kilns near the market town of Longquan, where in later dynasties much of the ware was collected for shipping. Technological advances such as the development of a multi-chambered, rising kiln and the use of stacked saggars—protective clay boxes—allowed for increased production in the Southern Song. In Yuan (1279–1368) and Ming (1368–1644) times, the kilns supplied wares to a domestic market as well as to overseas markets in Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asia.
Physical Description:
A stoneware bottle-shaped vase with a bulbous body tapering to a tall narrow neck with everted rim, on a tall footring. It has incised lappets around the lower body and a band of floral meander around the shoulder. It is covered in a craqueleur celadon glaze.
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