China, Jiangxi Province, Yonghezhen, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) / 1200s–1300s
Vase (Meiping) with Waves
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Vase (Meiping) with Waves as ceramic (China, Jiangxi Province, Yonghezhen, Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) · 1200s–1300s).
When Jizhou ware is fired, the slip coating and the inlaid decoration assume a soft ivory color while the exposed clay body displays a warm cinnamon brown.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this ceramic as glazed stoneware with slip painted decoration, Jizhou ware.
The museum's collection notes: Jizhou ware kilns in central Jiangxi province produced a dark ware in competition with other kilns in China and so Jizhou potters were highly inventive. Part of their work is a ware covered with a white slip over which they painted bold graphic designs of great visual effect. This striking wave design is remarkable in the way the painter transformed the entire surface of the vase into dynamically rolling masses of water, highlighted by cresting waves. Jizhou wares were excavated in cities of the lower Yangzi delta, including Nanjing, Shanghai, Changzhou, Taizhou, as well as Anhui province, Korea, and Japan.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtVase (Meiping) with WavesOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.