The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 26, 2024

Amphora Vase

Amphora Vase

1723–35
(1644-1911), Yongzheng mark and period (1723-35)
Overall: 52.1 cm (20 1/2 in.)

Did You Know?

The shape of the vase derives from Greece and was introduced to China via the Middle East.

Description

This elegant vase, modeled in the shape of an amphora with dragon handles has perfect symmetry. Its celadon glaze is of exceptional purity and of subtle green color, all characteristics of classical Yongzheng-era monochrome porcelains.

The amphora shape and dragon handles of this vase, seen earlier in the glazed stoneware of the Sui and Tang dynasties (581-907), were revived during the Yongzheng period for achieving "antique-elegance" (guya) in aesthetics as well as technical perfection in ceramic art.

Only four vases of this size and glaze are known to exist.
  • ?-1944
    Mrs. Francis F. [Elisabeth Severance Allen] Prentiss [1865-1944], Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1944-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Hollis, Howard. “Chinese and Korean Ceramics: Japanese Lacquer.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 31, no. 6, 1944, pp. 103–106. www.jstor.org
    Catalogue of the Elisabeth Severance Prentiss Collection; Bequest of Elisabeth Severance Prentiss, 1944. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1944. Published as: Vase in Shape of T'ang Amphora with Ovoid Body, Tall Neck, with "Bamboo Joints" and Projecting Lip. Mentioned: p. 82; Reproduced: Plate XXXVII archive.org
  • {{cite web|title=Amphora Vase|url=false|author=|year=1723–35|access-date=26 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1944.190