China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen, Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Chenghua mark and period (1465-1487) / 1465–87
Wine Cup with Children at Play
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Wine Cup with Children at Play as ceramic (China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen, Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Chenghua mark and period (1465-1487) · 1465–87).
Chenghua ware demonstrates one of the high points of technological accomplishment in Chinese porcelain production.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this ceramic as porcelain with underglaze blue and overglaze enamel decoration, docai ("joined colors") ware.
The museum's collection notes: This delicate wine cup, only two inches high, exhibits free, spontaneous drawing as well as perfect compositional balance over its small surface area. The motifs were outlined with cobalt blue; the piece was then glazed and fired in the normal way for making the blue-and-white ware. After firing, the outline painting was completed with colored enamels over the glaze. The piece was fired the second time. The pictorial decoration is refined and complicated; the porcelain body is of exceptionally high quality and is thin, translucent, and light in weight.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtWine Cup with Children at PlayOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.