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.
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.
Related Artworks
View MoreMetal
SpanishQingbai ware: porcelain with pale sky-blue glaze over incised and carved decoration. From the kilns at Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province.
12th centuryChineseEarthenware with slip-painted decoration
2nd-1st millennium BCEChineseTerracotta, painted black
4th century BCESouth ItalianTerracotta
GreekOff white (or very light gray) stoneware with ash coating and natural ash glaze; with signature reading "Ken" inscribed on the base before firing
21st centuryJapaneseLight gray stoneware with incised and openwork decoration and localized areas of natural ash glaze
7th centuryKoreanSoft-paste porcelain with decoration painted in underglaze cobalt blue
18th-19th centuryChineseTerracotta
GreekPlaster
Silver
17th-19th centuryFrenchWhite ware: porcelain with light bluish glaze. Probably made in Yŏju, Kyŏnggi province.
17th centuryKorean