meiping shaped jar with short neck and slightly flaring lip; brown glaze with glaze resist and slip painted prunus sprays on each side

Meiping Bottle with Plum Branch Decor, 13th century

Unknown artist, expand_more

Probably used for storing wine, vinegar, soy sauce and other liquids during the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1280-1368) dynasties, meiping bottles such as this came to be favored in later periods as vases for cut branches of flowering plum as the term, meiping ("plum bottle" or "plum vase") implies. In fact, the term meiping does not appear in pre-Qing (1644-1912) texts.

This elegant example of Jizhou stencil decoration displays a cut branch of flowering plum on each side of the bottle. The details of the pistils were brushed in with brown slip on the bisquit reserve and, as was typical in this technique, the resist portions of the design were coated with a thin application of clear glaze for protection.

Details
Title
Meiping Bottle with Plum Branch Decor
Role
Artist
Accession Number
2001.137.1
Curator Approved

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meiping shaped jar with short neck and slightly flaring lip; brown glaze with glaze resist and slip painted prunus sprays on each side