Collection Online as of June 7, 2023

Transitional Blue-and-White Square Bottle

1628–1722

China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen kilns, Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Chongzhen reign (1628-44) or Qing dynasty (1644-1911), Kangxi reign

(1662-1722)

Porcelain with underglaze cobalt blue decoration

Height: 31.1 cm (12 1/4 in.)

Edward L. Whittemore Fund 2018.293

Location

not on view

Description

The shape of this flask derives from European gin bottles. Its decoration in brilliant shades of blue with fantastic animal motifs—such as a leopard, the mystical qilin, a horse, and another imaginary beast—is characteristic of porcelain of the transitional period between the Ming and Qing dynasties when potters lost imperial patronage and experimented to find new clients in China and abroad.

Provenance

before 1978–?

Collection of Beurdeley & Cie, Paris, France

December 7, 2007

(Christie's Paris, France, 7 December 2007 sale, lot no. 126. Sold to J. J. Lally)

2007–2018

(J. J. Lally & Co., New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH)

2018–

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Beurdeley, Cécile. La Céramique chinoise: Le guide du connaisseur. Fribourg, France: Office du Livre, 1978. Reproduced: p. 211, pl. 79

Christie's Paris. Art d'Asie. 7 December 2007. Sale 5490. Reproduced: lot 126, p. 48

Sotheby's Hong Kong, Ltd. Chinese art from two private American collections. 5 April 2017. Sale HK0767. Reproduced: lot 1110, pp. 62-65

Von Spee, Clarissa. “Acquisitions 2018: Chinese Art.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine vol. 59, no. 2 (March/April 2019): 28. Reproduced and Mentioned: P. 28.