The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 10, 2023

Jar with Dragons Pursuing Flaming Jewels

1522–66

China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen kilns, Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Jiajing mark and reign

(1522-66)

Procelain with wucai (five color) overglaze enamel decoration

Diameter: 14.7 cm (5 13/16 in.); Overall: 12.9 cm (5 1/16 in.)

Bequest of Mrs. Severance A. Millikin 1989.291

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

The interior is glazed white porcelain.

Description

The exterior of this jar is ornamented with two rampant five-clawed dragons boldly drawn in rouge de fer. The dragons are in pursuit of the sacred jewel amid cloud scrolls in green and yellow, flanked at the top and bottom with broad registers of cloud scrolls and gadroons. The underfoot is glazed and bears a six-character nianhao in the form of a vertical mark reading "Daming Jiajing nianzhi," enclosed in double rings in underglaze cobalt blue.

Inscriptions

Inscription

大明嘉靖年製

Inscription Translation

Da Ming Jiajing nian zhi

Inscription Remark

Made in the Ming dynasty, Jiajing period

Provenance
(Ralph Chait, New York, NY, sold to Severance and Greta Millikin)
?-1989
Severance A. [1895-1985] and Greta [Marguerite Steckerl] Millikin [1903-1989], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
1989-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
Catalogue of the Severance and Greta Millikin Collection. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1990. p. 68, no. 37
Exhibition history

The Severance and Greta Millikin Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 5-September 2, 1990).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1989.291