Bottle ID: 479

< Previous page

SQUAT FORM VASE WITH POEM AND LANDSCAPE

Date: 1840-1880

Height: 46 mm

Stoneware, of squat, bulging vase form with a cylindrical neck and foot rim, with four convex ‘paneled’ sides, the front panel worked with an ‘iron brush’ to depict grasses issuing from rockwork; the opposing panel with an eight character inscription in regular script reading:

‘poets make good companions,
and scholars spend time together’;

beside a two character mark, partly illegible, reading ‘Er Dong’ (or Er Song), the base with a partly illegible two character impressed seal mark.
Attributed to Yixing.

Similar Examples:

None found

Provenance:

Asian Art Studio
Dynasty Arts, CA
Rose Meengs, Chicago

Yixing wares, including snuff bottles, have historically been associated with the literati. One of the reasons for this lies in the patronage of the potters by famous scholars and this support reached a peak early in the nineteenth century. Collaboration between the scholars and the potters caused an evolution of literati style with the creation of simple wares upon which scholars could demonstrate their talents of painting, poetry and calligraphy. The hard leathery surface of the purple clay was perfect for carving upon with a bamboo knife before firing.

< Back to full list