COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
Record
AMICA ID:
ASIA.1979.163
AMICA Library Year:
1999
Object Type:
Decorative Arts and Utilitarian Objects
Creator Nationality:
Asian; Far East Asian; Chinese
Creator Name-CRT:
Chinese
Title:
Stem Cup
View:
Full view
Creation Date:
Ming period, Xuande era, 1426-1435
Creation Start Date:
1426
Creation End Date:
1435
Materials and Techniques:
Porcelain painted with underglaze cobalt blue (Jingdezhen ware)
Classification Term:
Ceramics
Creation Place:
China, Jiangxi Province
Dimensions:
H. 3 1/2 in. (8.9 cm); D. 4 in. (10.2 cm)
AMICA Contributor:
Asia Society
Owner Location:
New York, New York, USA
ID Number:
1979.163
Credit Line:
Asia Society: The Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection
Context:
Noted for their refined bodies and elegant shapes, porcelains made during the reigns of the Xuande (1426-1435) and Chenghua (1465-1487) emperors of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) are ranked among the finest examples of imperial Chinese wares. Many of the characteristics of 15th-century porcelains result from increased imperial interest in ceramics. Ceramic production during this time--which was the near-exclusive domain of the imperial Jingdezhen kilns in Jiangxi Province--is noted for the development and refinement of techniques for making and decorating wares, experimentation with shapes and designs, and the widespread use of reign marks (inscriptions that identify the name of the dynasty and the reign name of an emperor).
A six-character Xuande mark is written in the bottom of the interior of this stem cup. Made of a refined porcelain clay and decorated with a dragon, the cup is neither very thick nor extremely thin; the black spots in the cobalt--caused by the precipitation of the cobalt into the overlying glaze during firing--and the pale sea-green tinge in the otherwise transparent glaze are typical of Chinese blue-and-white wares of the Yongle (1403-1424), Xuande, and Chenghua eras. While objects decorated with five-clawed dragons were reserved for the use of the imperial family, those with four claws, such as the powerful and assured dragon painted in underglaze blue on this cup, were used by nobility of lower rank.
Related Document Description:
Asia Society. Handbook of the Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection. New York: Asia Society, [1981], p. 74.
Related Document Description:
Lee, Sherman E. Asian Art: Selections from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd. New York: Asia Society, 1970, pp. 58, 73.
Related Document Description:
Young, Mahonri Sharp. 'Treasures of the Orient: A Rockefeller Collection.' Apollo (November 1970), p. 338.
Related Image Identifier Link:
ASIA.1979.163.a.tif
