VesselsChinese3rd-4th century CE

Vessel in the form of a mythical beast

3rd-4th century

Description

Small hollow container of uncertain function with tubular opening and body in the form of a seated mythical beast of ferocious appearance: large, bulging eyes, flared nostrils, open mouth, pointed fangs, and protruding tongue; his body squat and rotund; four limbs slender, rope-like, and bent, the beast’s proper right paw bearing a segmented fruit resembling a melon, resting on his knee; light gray stoneware with olive-green celadon glaze over incised, molded, gouged, and applique decoration; glaze appears to have been wiped away from the slightly concave base before firing. From the Yue kilns in the Shaoxing area of northeastern Zhejiang province. Note: Samples taken from the base of this vessel were thermoluminescence (TL) tested at Oxford Authentication Ltd. in March 1999 and determined to be consistent with the suggested period of manufacture.

Classification

Vessels

Technique

Celadon

Medium

Yue ware: stoneware with celadon glaze

Culture

Chinese

Period

Jin dynasty, 266-420

Century

3rd-4th century CE

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Asian Art

Dimensions

H. 10.8 x W. 9.5 x Diam. 10.5 cm (4 1/4 x 3 3/4 x 4 1/8 in.)

Provenance

[Eskenazi Ltd., London, April 1999] sold; to Walter C. Sedgwick Foundation, Woodside, CA (1999-2006), partial gift; to Harvard University Art Museums, 2006.