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Chinese, Vase, circa 1700
Vase with Lid (and Stand)
Chinese, Vase, circa 1700
Chinese, Vase, circa 1700
DepartmentHistoric House

Vase with Lid (and Stand)

Datecirca 1700
Mediumporcelain, glazed; wood (lid & stand)
DimensionsOverall Height (without base): 16 3/4 in. (42.5 cm) Circumference: 31 3/4 in. (80.6 cm)
Credit LineReynolda Estate
CopyrightPublic Domain
Object number1922.2.105a-c
DescriptionOne of a pair of baluster-form porcelain vases painted in polychrome enamels (this palette of colors is called famille verte because of the predominance of green) with Chinese female figures accompanying carts pulled by stags, one yellow and one red-orange, set in a wooded landscape with mountains behind and above the entourage. Traditional precious objects are depicted on the shoulders and necks of the vases. A diamond diaper band encircles each vase just about the foot.

The scenes were painted with translucent enamels, which are a hallmark of the Kangxi (or K'ang-hsi) era (1654-1722), just before Chinese potters learned to mix the enamels with a thick opaque white glaze that made the colors stand out from the surface. Kangxi (pronounced käng she) was the second emperor of the Qing (Ch'ing) dynasty. Kangxi welcomed Jesuit missionaries to China and they, in turn, taught the potters to use white enamel.

This vase was made as part of pair and meant to be used with its partner. The same scene was painted on each, except that the orientation on 1922.2.105 is from left to right and on 1922.2.104 is from right to left. Both vases are finished with matching teak wood dome-shaped covers that likely were added at a later date to substitute for missing porcelain covers. Vertical flanges on the feet of the vases indicate that they were intended to be displayed on stands.
ProvenanceFrom 1964
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC, acquired in 1964. [1]

Notes:
[1] In the early 1960s Charles H. Babcock (1899-1967) gave the house and its contents to the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation. The house was then incorporated as a museum and collection (Reynolda House, Inc.) on December 18, 1964 with the signing of the charter at its first board meeting. The museum first opened to the public in September 1965.

Status
On view
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