Page 52 - Kraak Porcelain, Jorge Welsh

29 Elephant-shaped kendi

Ming dynasty, Wanli period
( - ), ca. -
Chinese porcelain decorated
in underglaze cobalt blue
Height: cm, length: cm,
width: cm

A kendi heavily and naturalistically potted as a seated For a discussion on kraak zoomorphic kendis modelled
elephant with moulded tail and head pointing upwards in the form of elephants, see previous entry. The
with its short tusks pierced to form a double spout above present elephant kendi is of a slightly larger size than
the curled trunk. Its body has a slightly raised moulded the preceding example and is painted in a much darker
band across the back and supports a tall tubular neck shade of cobalt blue.
that flares to a wide brim with narrow mouth. It is
painted in deep shades of cobalt blue, which darken in
some areas to a blackish-blue, beneath a blue-tinged
glaze. A flower-head is painted on its forehead, its
protruding ears are le white and its eyes and tail are
picked out in blue. The body of the animal is painted
with a long fringed saddle-cloth, which follows the
moulded band across its back, decorated with a stylized
flower-head at the centre of two crossed lines reserved
on blue swastika-diaper grounds. The bridle is adorned
with long ribbons and pearl strings. The tall tubular neck
is painted with prunus branches growing from rockwork
above three blue lines and a continuous band of ruyi-
heads. The wide brim with narrow mouth is painted
with two floral panels reserved on blue swastika-diaper
grounds. The inner surface of the neck is glazed. The base
is flat and unglazed.