An important Longquan celadon pierced meiping

元或明早期  龍泉青瓷鏤孔梅瓶

The vase is superbly potted, with broad rounded shoulders tapering to a slender slightly flared foot, and supporting a short waisted neck. The sides are decorated around the widest point with an openwork band of peonies, with loose feathery blooms borne on a scrolling stem with characteristic leaves,  between an openwork border of six linked cash motifs around the shoulders, and a narrow band of shaped apertures above a border of incised tall upright lotus petals around the foot. The mouth connects to a vertical tube running down the centre of the vase, which is connected in turn to a separately applied base plate. The base is applied overall with a thick bubbled glossy green glaze softening the outlines of the pierced work, and leaving the footrim and an area on the underside of the base plate unglazed, showing the grey ware burn orange-red in the firing.  

Exhibited:
China Without Dragons, Rare Pieces from Oriental Ceramic Society Members, 2016, no.96 

Open celadon wares of this quality are exceptionally rare, which is perhaps not surprising given the level of technical difficulty required in their making. The openwork technique grew in popularity during the Ming dynasty, and is more commonly seen in later Ming celadons. For another example of openwork in a celadon ware, see the lantern-shaped vessel in the British Museum, illustrated by Jessica Harrison-Hall, Catalogue of the late Yuan and Ming Ceramics in the British Museum, British Museum Press, 2001, no. 16:35, where the author notes that a related vessel made of bronze was discovered among the cargo of the Sinan shipwreck of 1323. 

Dimensions: Height: 21 cm, 8 ¼ inches

Date: Late Yuan or early Ming Dynasty, late 14th/early 15th century

Stock No. 943

Price: On Request