Minneapolis Institute of Art

Bottle

China

Date

13th-14th century

Medium

Stoneware with cut-glaze floral decoration

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

This beautifully proportioned pear-shaped bottle displays an elegant floral design achieved with the so-called cut-glaze technique. This design was produced by cutting and scraping away the glaze and applying wax or oil to the exposed body areas before firing. The incisions combined with the resist successfully confined the glaze to the desired areas. Song dynasty (960-1279) potters introduced a wide variety of decorative techniques to enliven the black-glazed stonewares that had been produced in China since the early Six-Dynasties (fourth century). The earlier wares had been produced as undecorated black or brown monochromes. The cut-glaze technique allowed for the creation of motifs and designs of great clarity and visual strength. Asia

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