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Exhibition Name
Ewer with floral and fruit design
- Nationality/Period
Ming Dynasty
- Materials
Ceramics - White Porcelain
- Category
Food - Tableware - Foods and Drinks - kettle
- Dimensions
H. 26.0cm
- Accession Number
Koo 3159
- Location
China
This fine white porcelain pitcher, elaborately decorated with cobalt-blue underglaze, has a bulbous body that narrows into a thin neck with a flared mouth, as well as an ornate handle and a long spout. The body can be divided into three parts, each with its own unique decorative motif: the upper part of the neck is ringed with banana trees, while the upper shoulder is adorned with lotus flowers and scrolling vines, and the round body features a lychee fruit design, encircled by a medallion in the shape of water chestnut flowers. The designs were delicately and subtly painted by using a thin brush to dab cobalt pigment onto white porcelain, before transparent glaze was applied. The brilliance of the white porcelain and the cobalt blue design emerge after the firing process. This pitcher was made at the Jingdezhen kilns of the Yuan Dynasty, which is where the most representative blue and white porcelain ware was produced.