The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 25, 2024

Bird-Headed Ewer

Bird-Headed Ewer

600s–700s
(618-907)
green-glazed stoneware with modeled, molded, and applied decoration
Overall: 42.1 cm (16 9/16 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1989.2
Location: 239 Chinese Ceramics and Metalwork

Description

With a lobed body, a bird-shaped head, and a birdfeather loop handle, this ewer is derived from West and Central Asian metalwork: Tang potters adopted foreign shapes (bird-headed ewer and amphora) and foreign motifs (floral medallions, vines, palmette, and roundel designs) with great freedom. The artistic expressions bespoke the confidence and spirit of the period. This work is a representation of northern celadon, although it is commonly believed that the northern kilns specialized in white wares and the southern kilns in green wares (notably, Yue celadon). It continues the tradition of celadon production in the north during the late Northern Dynasties period in the 500s.
  • ?–1989
    (J. E. Eskenazi, Ltd., London, England, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1989–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Wilson, J. Keith. "Notable Acquisitions." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 78, no. 3 (1991): 63-147. Reproduced and Mentioned: p. 129 www.jstor.org
    Wilson, J. Keith, and Anne E. Wardwell. "New Objects/New Insights: Cleveland's Recent Chinese Acquisitions." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 81, no. 8 (1994): 270-347. Reproduced: p. 321; Mentioned: p. 321-24, 347 www.jstor.org
    Cunningham, Michael R., Stanislaw J. Czuma, Anne E. Wardwell, and J. Keith Wilson. Masterworks of Asian Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1998. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 40–41
    Eskenazi, Giuseppe, and Hajni Elias. A Dealer's Hand: The Chinese Art World Through the Eyes of Giuseppe Eskenazi. London, England: Scala, 2012. p. 251
  • Asian Autumn: New Objects/New Insights: Cleveland's Recent Chinese Acquisitions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 18-December 31, 1994).
    Notable Acquisitions. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 15, 1991).
  • {{cite web|title=Bird-Headed Ewer|url=false|author=|year=600s–700s|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1989.2