Cleveland Museum of Art

Ewer with a Lion-shaped Spout

Date

900s–1000s

Medium

green-glazed porcelaneous stoneware with modeled, carved and incised decoration, Yaozhou ware

Culture

China, Shaanxi province, Tongchuan, Huangbaozhen, Five Dynasties period (907-960) or Northern Song dynasty (960-1126)

Department

Chinese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This remarkable ewer is most likely a very early and rare type of Yaozhou ware, with the shape and decoration recalling Tang metal ware. High quality pieces like this might have been sent as tribute to the Northern Song court. Yaozhou ware, or northern celadon, appeared to have been made in the north in emulation of the southern Yue ware. But its green glaze has a deep olive-green tone, and potters fully exploited the contrasting tones of the glaze over the incised and carved decoration to create rich textural effects.

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