Huge Chinese Ming Dynasty Cizhou Ware Wine Jar

East Asia, China, Ming Dynasty, ca. 1368 to 1644 CE. A hand-built pottery wine jar of a substantial size from the Cizhou Ware tradition with a concave circular base, a tall body of an inverted piriform shape, a rounded shoulder that tapers to a squat, cylindrical neck, and a thick rim surrounding the deep interior cavity. The body and neck were first glazed with a thick, off-white decoration that provides a bright ground for the contrasting dark brown decorations. Brown pigment creates a pair of zigzagging brown lines on the neck above rings of repeating tongues, abstract avian feather motifs around the shoulder, a third zigzagging register on the midsection, and abstract, minimalist motifs on the lower body. A hefty wine jar replete with intricate artistry and expert construction! Size: 17.1" W x 27.75" H (43.4 cm x 70.5 cm)

Despite its popularity during the Ming Dynasty, Cizhou Ware is most prominently associated with the northern Song to Yuan period of the 11th to 14th century CE. Cizhou Ware is characterized by iron-pigmented brown slip atop cream-white slip and then covered with a clear glaze to seal in the detailing. Cizhou ceramics were initially intended to be used and enjoyed by those in the middle class for storing various materials like foodstuffs or wine, and many domestic items were made in this particular style. However, the technique of sealing the painted decorations would continue to be used for later Chinese ceramics like this example.

For a stylistically similar example with more elaborate decorations, please see The Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 1991.253.23.

Provenance: private Vero Beach, Florida, USA collection, acquired in the early 1980s; ex-private old French collection

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#153232
Condition Report: Nicks, abrasions, pitting, and light encrustations to base, body, shoulder, and rim, with fading to original pigment color, otherwise intact and excellent. Nice earthen deposits and great traces of original decorations throughout.