The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Brush Washer with Dragons

1426–35

China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen, Ming dynasty

(1368-1644), Xuande reign (1426-35)
porcelain with underglaze blue decoration
Diameter: 18 cm (7 1/16 in.); Overall: 4.5 cm (1 3/4 in.)
Severance and Greta Millikin Collection 1964.166
Location: 238 Chinese Ceramics

Description

The attractive tonal range found in the painted decoration, resulting from the irregular size of cobalt bits in the pigment, and the pocked glaze surface identify this stunning brush washer as a classic Xuande period piece despite the absence of a reign mark.
  • Geoffrey Stevenon, Boston, MA
    ?–1964
    (Frank Caro, New York, NY, sold to Severance and Greta Millikin)
    1964
    Severance A. [1895–1985] and Greta [Marguerite Steckerl] Millikin [1903–1989], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1964–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Ming Blue-and-White: An Exhibition of Blue-Decorated Porcelain of the Ming Dynasty. Philadelphia, PA: [Museum of Art], 1949. no. 43
    Neils, Jenifer. The World of Ceramics: Masterpieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Museum in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1982. no. 123
    Turner, Evan H. “The Year in Review: Selections 1989.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 77, no. 2 (February 1990): 38–78. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 40 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. 86–87
  • Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 8, 1991).
    The Severance and Greta Millikin Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 5-September 2, 1990).
    The World of Ceramics: Masterpieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 30-September 5, 1982).
    Ming Blue and White: an exhibition of blue-decorated porcelain of the Ming dynasty. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA (October 29-December 4, 1949).
  • {{cite web|title=Brush Washer with Dragons|url=false|author=|year=1426–35|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1964.166