Images

https://piction.clevelandart.org/cma/ump.di?e=FDB7EB98F2CE92BEA6356E24797ECB99D5D413A8D832E777286200DF365D5F15&s=24247294&se=1486992056&v=4&f=1942.716_o2.jpg

https://piction.clevelandart.org/cma/ump.di?e=79D42D0013759E2B47E6B1DC1C7A3075760341F5D529CBA923DCB6922D0267C8&s=24247294&se=1486992056&v=1&f=%5C1942.716det01_o2.jpg

Alternate Views

Sep 19, 2005

Prunus Vase (Meiping) with Blossoming Lotus

琺華蓮花紋梅瓶

late 1400s

China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen kilns, Ming dynasty

(1368-1644)

Porcelain with polychrome glazes, Fahua ware

Diameter: 19 cm (7 1/2 in.); Overall: 37.5 cm (14 3/4 in.)

Bequest of John L. Severance 1942.716

Location

not on view

Did you know?

The shoulders of the vase are decorated with ruyi-shaped clouds.

Description

According to 11th-century poet Zhou Dunyi, “all people like peonies, but I alone like the lotus because it emerges from the mud unstained.” The lotus is a symbol of purity and popular among Chinese literati and in Buddhism. This vase shows lotus flowers rising from the water’s surface depicted in elegant yet simple ripples.

Made in a kiln at Jingdezhen in southern China, this vase is an example of the fahua technique—decoration with raised outlines produced by squeezing clay from a tube onto the vase’s surface. Colors are applied to fill the outlines before firing.

Provenance

?-1942

John L. Severance [1863-1936], Cleveland, OH, bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art

1942-

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Catalogue of the John L. Severance Collection: Bequest of John L. Severance, 1936. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1942. Reproduced: p. [61], Plate XXX, cat. no. 147; Mention: p. 69, cat. no. 147 archive.org

Hollis, Howard C. “Department of Oriental Art: Chinese Ceramics and Jades.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 29, no. 9, 1942, pp. 150–157. Reproduced: p. 155 www.jstor.org

J. Mayuyama and H. Igaki, "Chinese Ceramics in the Collection of the CMA," Tosetsu 陶說, August 1956, no. 41, pp. 41-46. Reproduced

The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 869 archive.org

Mayuyama, Junkichi 繭山順吉. Chinese Ceramics in the West: Compendium of Chinese Ceramic Masterpieces in European and American Collection [欧米蒐蔵中国陶磁図錄]. Tokyo: Mayuyama & Co, 1960. Reproduced: pl. 85

Lee, Sherman E. A History of Far Eastern Art. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1964. Reproduced: p. 418, fig. no. 556

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 267 archive.org

The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 267 archive.org

Froncek, Thomas, and Hugh Honour. The Horizon Book of the Arts of China. New York: American Heritage Pub. Co, 1969. Reproduced: p. 261

Lion-Goldschmidt, Daisy. Ming Porcelain. London: Thames and Hudson, 1978. Reproduced: page facing 122, no. 97

Moore, Janet Gaylord. The Eastern Gate: An Invitation to the Arts of China and Japan. Cleveland: Collins, 1979. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 78 and p. 87

Neils, Jenifer. The World of Ceramics: Masterpieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Museum in cooperation with Indiana University Press, 1982. cat. no. 131

Gilbert, Rita, and William McCarter. Living with Art. New York: Knopf, 1988. Reproduced: fig. 576, p. 468

Brummett, Palmira Johnson. Civilization Past & Present. New York: Longman, 1999. Reproduced: p. 479

Exhibition history

The World of Ceramics: Masterpieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 30-September 5, 1982).

Circa 1492: Art in the Age of Exploration. The National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC (October 12, 1991-January 12, 1992).

Exhibition of the John L. Severance Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (November 12, 1942-March 14, 1943).

Mayling Soong Foundation 25th Anniversary Exhibition. Davis Museum and Cultural Center, Wellesley, MA (organizer) (April 16-June 4, 1967).

The Twain Shall Meet. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 30, 1985-January 5, 1986).

Flora and Fauna (Chinese art rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 6, 2020-June 6, 2021).

Cite this page

{{cite web|title=Prunus Vase (Meiping) with Blossoming Lotus|url=https://clevelandart.org/art/1942.716|year=late 1400s|access-date=02 July 2022|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Contact us

The information about this object, including provenance information, is based on historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on objects is an ongoing process, but the information about this object may not reflect the most current information available to CMA. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

Request a digital file from Image Services that is not available through CC0, a detail image, or any image with a color bar. If you have questions about requesting an image, please email imageservices@clevelandart.org.

You are here:

Images

Prunus Vase (Meiping) with Blossoming Lotus

Prunus Vase (Meiping) with Blossoming Lotus

琺華蓮花紋梅瓶

China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen kilns, Ming dynasty

Location

Download and Share

Did you know?

Description

Contact us