Cleveland Museum of Art

Transitional Blue-and-White Square Bottle

Date

1628–1722

Medium

Porcelain with underglaze cobalt blue decoration

Culture

China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen kilns, Ming dynasty (1368-1644), Chongzhen reign (1628-44) or Qing dynasty (1644-1911), Kangxi reign (1662-1722)

Department

Chinese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The shape of this flask derives from European gin bottles. Its decoration in brilliant shades of blue with fantastic animal motifs—such as a leopard, the mystical qilin , a horse, and another imaginary beast—is characteristic of porcelain of the transitional period between the Ming and Qing dynasties when potters lost imperial patronage and experimented to find new clients in China and abroad. This flask's square shape and design represents a departure from the earlier imperial Ming dynasty style, which is mostly ornamental and symmetrical.

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