Collection online
stem cup
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Object type
Museum number
PDF,B.638
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Description
Small stem porcelain cup. Underglaze blue with two winged beasts resembling a lion and an elephant in waves. Wide band of waves on stem. Inscription in central roundel inside.
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Culture/period
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Date
- 1426-1435
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Production place
- Made in: Jingdezhen
- (Asia,China,Jiangxi (province),Jingdezhen)
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Materials
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Technique
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Dimensions
- Height: 90 millimetres
- Diameter: 103 millimetres
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Inscriptions
Inscription Type
markInscription Language
ChineseInscription Comment
Six-character Xuande mark in a double circle in underglaze blue inside in the centre
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Curator's comments
Published PDF date : Ming Xuande 1426-1435Room 95 label text:
PDF B638
Stem cup with mythical beasts
Potters painted this porcelain stem cup with underglaze blue scrolling waves and mythical beasts. Inside is a Xuande reign mark in a double ring. Craftsmen at Jingdezhen thoroughly processed the local clay to remove any impurities. This resulted in highly refined clay which was purer, whiter, and finer in the early fifteenth century than in any other period of the Ming dynasty. This pure body is visible on this example in the flat unglazed base, at the rim of the vessel and where the design is just covered with a transparent glaze contrasting with the underglaze blue waves.
Porcelain with underglaze cobalt-blue decoration
Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province 江西省, 景德鎮
Ming dynasty, Xuande mark and period, AD1426–35 -
Bibliography
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Location
On display: G95/dc18/sh3
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Acquisition name
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Acquisition notes
Purchased by Sir Percival David from Bluett & Sons on 27th April 1933. Listed in Bluett & Sons Sales Day Book (SDB) vol. 14, p.206, Lot 146. £25. Purchased at Sotheby's, 25th-26th April 1933 from the Stephen D. Winkworth Collection Sale.
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Department
Asia
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Registration number
PDF,B.638
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Object reference number: RRC39906
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