Skip Navigation

Ewer (Zhihu)

Asian Art

On View: Asian Galleries, West, 2nd floor (China)
Painting porcelain in underglaze red using copper-oxide pigment was introduced in the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen during the Yuan dynasty and continued into the early Ming. In this early period, use of the pigment was still experimental, and the fired copper would often create a color more gray than bright red. The taste for underglaze red in the Hongwu period was in part a result of the lack of imported cobalt at this time. The overall shape of the vessel, as well as details such as the raised vertical rib down the handle and the three studs at its base, refers to metal prototypes from the Middle East or Central Asia, and the scrolling pattern of the painted decoration is common in Islamic art.
MEDIUM Porcelain with copper-red underglaze design
  • Place Made: Jiangxi, China
  • DATES 1279–1368
    DYNASTY Yuan Dynasty (possibly early Ming Dynasty)
    PERIOD Yuan Dynasty
    DIMENSIONS 11 7/16 x 8 1/4 in. (29 x 21 cm)  (show scale)
    COLLECTIONS Asian Art
    ACCESSION NUMBER 52.132
    CREDIT LINE The William E. Hutchins Collection, Bequest of Augustus S. Hutchins
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Lipped mouth; constricted neck; gall-bladder shaped belly; circular foot; long spout; neck and spout has a linked cloud-shaped piece; curved handle; cover has a small knob; below handle is pattern of 3 coins. Copper-red underglaze painting: 1. fret-scroll (hui wen); 2. banana leaf pattern; 3. fret-scroll (hui wen); 4. interlocking camellia; 5. cloud head scrolls on shoulders; 6. interlocking peony flowers; 7. changing lotus petals pattern; 8. curving grass pattern. Besides unglazed lower sections of circular foot, slight blue-green clear glaze on entire vessel. Daily used ware. Condition: Basically intact. Repaired spout.
    EXHIBITIONS
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Asian Galleries, West, 2nd floor (China)
    CAPTION Ewer (Zhihu), 1279–1368. Porcelain with copper-red underglaze design, 11 7/16 x 8 1/4 in. (29 x 21 cm). Brooklyn Museum, The William E. Hutchins Collection, Bequest of Augustus S. Hutchins, 52.132. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 52.132_PS6.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 52.132_PS6.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2013
    "CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
    You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
    RECORD COMPLETENESS
    Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.