Artwork Page for Phoenix-Headed Ewer

Details / Information for Phoenix-Headed Ewer

Phoenix-Headed Ewer

1000s

China, possibly Guangdong Province, Xicun, Northern Song dynasty

(960–1127)
Medium
porcelain with pale greenish-white glaze
Measurements
Overall: 38.7 cm (15 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Severance A. Millikin 1965.468
Public Domain
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Location
238 Chinese Ceramics
Print
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Did You Know?

The phoenix's beak forms a spout for pouring.

Description

Phoenix-headed ewers of this type have been unearthed at Xicun in Guangdong province. Wares with a thick and coarse body were fired in local Xicun kilns, but those with a thin and refined body—such as this piece—were likely produced at Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province.
A pale greenish-white porcelain vessel features a slender neck topped with a bird head having a curved beak and scalloped crest. Below a central ridge, vertical indentations form rounded lobes along the bulbous body. Faint horizontal lines encircle the shoulder, and the vessel tapers down to a flared foot. Tiny dark spots and bright reflections mark the smooth glaze.

Phoenix-Headed Ewer

1000s

China, possibly Guangdong Province, Xicun, Northern Song dynasty (960–1127)

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