Object Details
- Description
- Blue-and-white. Jar: carved wood stand. Clay: white porcelain, heavily potted. Glaze: colorless, transparent. Decoration: in under-glaze cobalt oxide (blue). Six-character mark on the neck (daming jiajing nianzhi )and two shou 壽 characters included in the design of dragons, crested waves, fungus of longevity, and clouds.
- Marks
- Made in the reign of the Jiajing emperor of the great Ming dynasty (on the jar's neck)
- Inscriptions
- The inscription on the neck is 大明嘉靖年製 Ta ming jiajing nian zhi: "Made in the reign of the Jiajing emperor of the great Ming dynasty."
- The inscription on the neck is 大明嘉靖年製 Ta ming jiajing nian zhi: "Made in the reign of the Jiajing emperor of the great Ming dynasty."
- Label
- This imperial jar with a Jiajing reign mark on the neck was likely used to hold wine; originally it would have had a porcelain cover. Its decoration reflects the Jiajing emperor's attraction to practices aimed at attaining immortality. He commissioned many ceramics from the imperial workshop at Jingdezhen decorated with images of long life. Here, two five-clawed dragons, which are imperial emblems, stride across the jar pursuing a fancifully written character. The word is "shou," which means "longevity." To reinforce the meaning, the two "shou" characters rise out of depictions of sprigs of the "fungus of immortality," said to be an ingredient in elixirs to prolong life.
- Provenance
- To 1945
- Allen J. Mercher, New York. [1]
- From 1945
- Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Allen J. Mercher, New York. [2]
- Notes:
- [1] Curatorial Remark 1 in the object record.
- [2] See note 1.
- Collection
- Freer Gallery of Art Collection
- Exhibition History
- Beyond Paper: Chinese Calligraphy on Objects (August 18, 1994 to July 3, 1997)
- Chinese Art (May 9 to November 29, 1993)
- Chinese Ceramics (April 11, 1978 to September 4, 1980)
- Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Art, 1953 (May 26, 1953 to September 15, 1953)
- Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Art, 1947 (October 13, 1947 to May 26, 1953)
- The Peacock Room (May 2, 1923 to February 21, 2011)
- Previous custodian or owner
- Allen J. Mercher
- Credit Line
- Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
- 1522-1566
- Period
- Ming dynasty, Jiajing reign
- Accession Number
- F1945.36a-b
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- Vessel
- Medium
- Porcelain with cobalt under colorless glaze
- Dimensions
- H x W: 53.1 x 52.2 cm (20 7/8 x 20 9/16 in)
- Style
- Jingdezhen ware
- Origin
- Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, China
- Related Online Resources
- Google Arts & Culture
- See more items in
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
- Topic
- ceramic
- dragon
- Jingdezhen ware
- Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644)
- Jiajing reign (1522 - 1566)
- cobalt pigment
- China
- porcelain
- clear glaze
- Chinese Art
- longevity
- Record ID
- fsg_F1945.36a-b
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye34c32bd73-145c-45a0-9308-deb21a2e298c
