Cleveland Museum of Art

Meiping Vase with Cloud Collars and Peony Sprays

Date

1403–24

Medium

porcelain with incised decoration and white glaze

Culture

China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen kilns, Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Yongle period (1403-1424)

Department

Chinese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This beautiful vase, called a meiping, is a testimony to the extremely high standards demanded for imperial white porcelain of the Yongle period. It is exquisitely potted and subtly decorated with "hidden decoration" (anhua) incised into the body. The clear glaze over the white body has a luster and purity; the white color radiates with a soft glow like melting snow, described by the Chinese connoisseurs as tianbai, or "sweetwhite." Tianbai wares were produced for use in imperial offerings and have always been considered a great achievement of the Yongle period.

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