Vase with design of deer in a landscape

Vase, baluster type, sometimes called a “yen-yen” vase. Long neck with trumpet mouth, swelling body which narrows to a slightly flaring base rolling neatly to a wedge-shaped foot rim, set in, possibly designed as in other porcelains of the period, to fit a stand. This is a typical Kangxi silhouette. Although there is no reign mark, it can be assigned to the Kangxi period.
Clay: fine white porcelain.
Glaze: transparent,glossy, some pin holes, inclusions of impurities, bare foot-rim, base glazed with underglaze blue double ring.
Decoration: painted in brilliant underglaze cobalt blue in outline and wash. Simple paired cloud forms in bands below lip and above foot. On neck two spotted deer in a rocky landscape of pines, cranes, and clouds. On body, a similar landscape in larger scale. Here the stag is approaching a doe.

Wood stand, not previously recorded.

Historical period(s)
Qing dynasty, Kangxi reign, 1662-1722
Medium
Porcelain with cobalt pigment under clear glaze
Style
Jingdezhen ware
Dimensions
H x Diam: 46.1 × 20.8 cm (18 1/8 × 8 3/16 in)
Geography
China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen
Credit Line
Purchase — funds provided by the Women's Committee of the Smithsonian Associates
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1986.4a-b
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Vase

Keywords
China, cloud, cobalt pigment, crane, deer, Jingdezhen ware, landscape, porcelain, Qing dynasty (1644 - 1911)
Provenance

S. N. Ferris Luboshez (1896-1984) [1]

To 1985
Trocadéro, Kenny & Higgins Asian Art, Inc., Washington, DC, to 1985

From 1985
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Trocadéro, Kenny & Higgins Asian Art, Inc. in 1985 [2]

Notes:

[1] According to information in the object record.

[2] Transferred from the Freer Study Collection (FSC-P-3448) to the Permanent Collection on November 14, 1986.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Trocadéro, Kenny & Higgins Asian Art, Inc.
S.N. Ferris Luboshez 1896-1984

Description

Vase, baluster type, sometimes called a "yen-yen" vase. Long neck with trumpet mouth, swelling body which narrows to a slightly flaring base rolling neatly to a wedge-shaped foot rim, set in, possibly designed as in other porcelains of the period, to fit a stand. This is a typical Kangxi silhouette. Although there is no reign mark, it can be assigned to the Kangxi period.
Clay: fine white porcelain.
Glaze: transparent,glossy, some pin holes, inclusions of impurities, bare foot-rim, base glazed with underglaze blue double ring.
Decoration: painted in brilliant underglaze cobalt blue in outline and wash. Simple paired cloud forms in bands below lip and above foot. On neck two spotted deer in a rocky landscape of pines, cranes, and clouds. On body, a similar landscape in larger scale. Here the stag is approaching a doe.

Wood stand, not previously recorded.

Published References
  • (Introduction) Jane Tilley Griffin. Chinese Art from the Ferris Luboshez Collection. Exh. cat. College Park, Maryland. cat. 150.
  • Shirley H. Ganse. Chinese Ceramics: Art and Technology. Exh. cat. Atlanta. cat. 66.
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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