Cleveland Museum of Art

White-Glazed Jar with Hidden Design

Date

1500s–1600s

Medium

Porcelain with sweet-white (tianbai; 甜白) glaze

Culture

China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen kilns, Ming dynasty (1368-1644)

Department

Chinese Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

White was a ritual color used in Buddhist ceremonies, as well as the color of mourning. This jar is made of two molded halves that were joined where the vessel’s middle section shows a raised line. It is covered by a silky white glaze called “sweet-white” ( tianbai ; 甜白). A “hidden design” ( anhua ; 暗花) of floral scrolls on the shoulder and stylized petals around the base shine through the glaze. The jar may have been used as a planter, a vase for flowers, or it may have held incense sticks on a home altar. Tianbai , or sweet-white glaze, was developed to accommodate the Yongle emperor’s (reigned 1403–24) preference for white ceramics.

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