Ewer with Silver Fittings

Description

Ewer with silver fittings
China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644)
Yongle reign (1403–24)
Porcelain with cobalt underglaze and clear glaze, silver
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John A. Pope for the James Marshall
Plumer Memorial Collection, 1968/1.50

Cong-shaped vase
China, Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
18th century
Soft-paste porcelain with cobalt underglaze and
clear glaze
Promised gift of William C. Weese, M.D., LSA ’65, G2020.2.14

Summer 2022 Gallery Rotation
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The shape of this ewer looks back to metalwork models of the Sassanian Empire (based in modern Iran) that were first imported to China in the seventh century; even the floral scrolls have their origin in ancient West Asian art. The ceramic technique, however, was the very latest vogue at the Ming court: at the beginning of the fifteenth century, the potters of Jingdezhen had only recently mastered underglaze painting in cobalt blue. Such wares were made by imperial order and used as diplomatic gifts for rulers of Islamic states in Southeast Asia and the Persian Gulf. The silver spout and lid are later additions.
Since the time of Marco Polo, the center of Chinese porcelain production has been Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, an area blessed with large deposits of the hard kaolin clay that is essential for porcelain. The kilns came into prominence during the Yuan period (1279-1368), when both the production of pure white porcelain and porcelain with underglaze cobalt blue decoration were mastered. The succeeding Ming period (1368-1644) continued and expanded this tradition, as seem in this magnificent ewer that once belonged in the collection of the distinguished ceramic scholar, John A. Pope, who catalogued the world-famous collection of Chinese blue-and-white porcelain at the Ardebil Shrine in Iran.
The bright blue was derived from cobalt ore imported from Persia and a ewer of this shape, which recalls Sassanian (Persian) metalwork prototypes, would have been made for an Islamic ruler and sent abroad with Admiral Zheng He (1371-1433), who sailed a Chinese fleet to the Middle East from 1421 to 1423 on behalf of the Yongle emperor (r.1403-1424).The floral scrolls across the neck and body of the vessel, consisting of posies of different blooms, also have origins in ancient West Asian art. The silver spout and lid are later European repairs.
(Label for UMMA Chinese Gallery Opening Rotation, March 2009)