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Feb 20, 2020

Meiping Vase with carved Dragon Motif

1300s

South China, Yuan dynasty

(1279–1368)

Porcelain with pale bluish-white (qingbai; 青白) glaze and carved decoration

Overall: 27.6 x 16.5 cm (10 7/8 x 6 1/2 in.)

Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley Collection Gift 2020.189

Location

not on view

Did you know?

In Chinese mythology, the dragon is believed to transport human souls to the heavens after death.

Description

A fierce coiling dragon chasing a pearl amid mist and clouds—a symbol of fertility and power—decorates this sturdy vase. Its shoulder is incised with a band of lotus flowers and the base features a border of lotus petals. Meiping, literally prunus vase, derives its name from being used to display a single floral spray, traditionally a branch of blossoming plum (or prunus), apricot, or cherry.

Inscriptions

Inscription

There are multiple self-adhesive labels on the bottom: 1. Square white (now yellowed with age) label with "90" written in red ink. 2. White rectangular label with "L.80.17.8" written in pencil. 3. Fabric tape cut to rectangular shape with "L.2161.49 /39" written in black ink. 4. White round label from Lally & Co. New York with "X2295" written in black ink.

Provenance

Edgar Worch [1880–1972], Berlin, Germany, and New York, NY ¹

Henry Trubner [1920–1999] family collection

?–April 2018

(J.J. Lally & Co., New York, NY, sold to Mr. and Mrs. Joseph P. Keithley)

April 2018–2020

Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley, Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art

2020–

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Provenance Footnotes

¹Edgar Worch's wife, Hedwig (Hedi) Schmiegslsky Worch [1892–1997], and Henry Trubner's mother, Gertrud (Tula) Schmiegslsky Taubner Buchwald [1895–?], were sisters.

Citations

Trubner, Henry. Chinese Ceramics from the Prehistoric Period Through Ch'ien Lung; A Loan Exhibition from Collections in America and Japan. March 14 to April 27, 1952. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum, 1952. Mentioned and Reproduced: no. 187, p. 83

Salisbury, Tonya. The Role of Dragons in Chinese Culture. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2004. archive.org

Exhibition history

Chinese Ceramics from the Prehistoric Period Through Ch'ien Lung; A Loan Exhibition from Collections in America and Japan. Los Angeles, CA (March 14-April 27, 1952).

Impressionism to Modernism: The Keithley Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 11, 2022-January 8, 2023).

Cite this page

{{cite web|title=Meiping Vase with carved Dragon Motif|url=https://clevelandart.org/art/2020.189|year=1300s|access-date=28 May 2023|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

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Meiping Vase with carved Dragon Motif

Meiping Vase with carved Dragon Motif

South China, Yuan dynasty

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Description

Inscription

Provenance Footnotes

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