Pot
Author: Unknown
Origin: Jingdezhen Kilns, China
Dating: c.1660 (Qing Dynasty, transition period)
Material: Porcelain
Dimensions (cm): 55,5 x Ø 39,3
Inv. no.: PD0483
One of two pots with several densities of cobalt blue – slightly “blurred”, which is common in porcelain from this period.
Feasibly, the decorative composition on the objects represents scenes taken from a novel or a play. In it, two richly dressed and styled female figures may be seen dancing in a garden around a peony vase, attended by a servant carrying a ceremonial parasol.
The lids – which do not seem to match the pots – are decorated with children playing among rocks.
Porcelain emerged, in China, between the 6th and 7th centuries, as an improvement of stoneware – obtained due to the use of a plastic clay (kaolin) fired at high temperatures (+1200 ºC or +2192 ºF).
It began to be produced in the Tang dynasty (618-906), having developed intensely in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) with the discovery of kaolin. It reached perfection in the mid-14th century.
