Vase in the Form of a Hu

Potters at the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen created extraordinary monochrome glazes during the early eighteenth century, including this tea-dust glaze, produced by spraying a green lead glaze over a yellow-brown iron glaze. The speckled gray-green color was thought to resemble dried tea leaves. Although this glaze first occurred at kilns in Shaanxi and Henan provinces during the Tang dynasty, and was also used in the Ming dynasty, it fell out of favor and was later revived at Jingdezhen for use on imperial wares during the Yongzheng and Qianlong periods. Not only do this vessel’s color and design recall the patina on ancient bronzes but also its shape recalls earlier bronze ritual vessels popular in the Han dynasty.