Ewer, Ming dynasty (1368–1644), Zhengde period (1506–21), ca. 1520
Chinese for the Portuguese market
Hard paste; H. 7 3/8 in. (18.7 cm)
Apocryphal mark of the Xuande period (1426–35)
Helena Woolworth McCann Collection,
Purchase, Winfield Foundation Gift, 1961 (61.196)
Technical Glossary
Chinese for the Portuguese market
Hard paste; H. 7 3/8 in. (18.7 cm)
Apocryphal mark of the Xuande period (1426–35)
Helena Woolworth McCann Collection,
Purchase, Winfield Foundation Gift, 1961 (61.196)
The Islamic form of this ewer is a reminder that the West came late to the export trade, and its impromptu nature is further emphasized by the royal Portuguese arms painted upside down. The likelihood of porcelains having been produced during the first direct contact between Portugal and China has long been debated, but the physical characteristics of this ewer—its distinctly greenish glaze, mild blue painting, and misty surface—place it in that inaugural period.
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Related Index Terms
Geography/Place
- • Ceramic, organized by culture, East Asia
- • Ceramic, organized by culture, East Asia, China
- • Vessel, organized by culture, East Asia
- • Vessel, organized by culture, East Asia, China
Material and Technique
- • Ceramic, Porcelain
- • Ceramic, Porcelain, Asia
- • Ceramic, Porcelain, Europe
- • Vessel, Tall (Vase, Pitcher, Bottle)
- • Vessel, Tall, East Asia
