Brooklyn Museum: Asian Art: Shang Vase

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Shang Vase

This vase is part of a pair that entered the Museum's collection in 1932, but slight differences in size and decoration indicate that they were made at different times although following the same design. This form of Bottle Vase appears in the Song Dynasty (960–1279) as an archaistic revival of ancient bronze vessels, and the design of flowers connected by a scrolling vine is an adaptation of a Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) pattern. The Qing imperial court looked back to the Song and the Ming as two of the greatest eras of ceramic production, and the combination of a Song form and Ming decorative patterns is a Qing homage to China's past as a source of artistic excellence.

Medium: Porcelain with cobalt underglaze decoration
Place Made: Jiangxi, China
Dates: 1736-1795
Dynasty: Qing Dynasty
Period: Qianlong Period
Collections: Asian Art
Museum Location: This item is on view in Asian Galleries, The Arts of China, 2nd Floor
Accession Number: 32.1032.2
Credit Line: Gift of the executors of the estate of Colonel Michael Friedsam
Image: Overall, 32.1032.2_bw.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

Catalogue Description: Curved mouth that flares out; long neck; oval body; slightly flaring circular foot. Cobalt-blue underglaze design, consisting of ocean wave patterns, similar to ruyi, banana leaf pattern, fret-scroll (huiwen), interlocking lotus flowers. Lotus flowers mean "qingbai lianjie," or "pure and honest." 6-character inscription: "Made during the Qianlong reign of the Great Qing." Unglazed base of foot-ring. Clear glaze covers rest of vase. Object for bestowing reward. Condition: Intact.

Collections: Asian Art: Shang Vase