Gourd-Shaped Bottle

early 18th century

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 200

Carried by Daoist Immortals, the calabash gourd that inspired this bottle is said to serve as a special container for the liquor of immortality. Ceramic productions of this shape first become popular in the fourteenth century, a period when Daoism flourished, and then again in the sixteenth as a result of imperial interest in this religious tradition.

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Title: Gourd-Shaped Bottle
Period: Qing dynasty, late Kangxi (1662–1722)–Yongzheng (1723–35) period
Date: early 18th century
Culture: China
Medium: Porcelain with blue glaze (Jingdezhen ware)
Dimensions: H. 6 3/4 in. (17.1 cm)
Classification: Ceramics
Credit Line: Bequest of Benjamin Altman, 1913
Object Number: 14.40.27
Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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