Wine ewer 彩色蝦形酒壺
Ceramics
China
Subject/design:
Wine ewer in the shape of a crayfish
Materials:
Porcelain
Technique:
Painted with enamels and gold
Date:
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), second half of 16th century
Size:
Height 21 cm
Place of origin:
China, Jiangxi, imperial kilns of Jingdezhen
Description:
The crayfish is perched on an inverted lotus leaf, the stalk of which forms a spout; on its back is a lotus-pod filler with a flat lid surmounted by a frog, and a stalk comprising the handle. The surface below is moulded with a design of breaking waves and a leaping carp on either side, also a crab below the handle. The piece is decorated with green, yellow, turquoise and aubergine glazes, the yellow-glazed areas being overgilt. The recessed, oval base is unglazed.
Comments:
This crustacean symbolises rising in the social scale. Drinking wine poured from this ewer expresses the wish to climb quickly the rungs of the mandarin hierarchy.
Inventory number:
CB.CC.1936.209
Copyright:
Fondation Baur
Photographer:
Marian Gérard