Page 150 - Decorative Arts, Part II: Far Eastern Ceramics and Paintings, Persian and Indian Rugs and Carpets

1942.9-502 (C-355)
"Beehive" Water Pot

Qing dynasty, late nineteenth century
1
Porcelain with yellow glaze, 7.9 x 12.7 (3 /s x 5)
Widener Collection
INSCRIPTIONS
Spuriously inscribed in standard script on the base in three ver- have likewise varied, with some scholars expressing
tical columns of two characters each: Da Qing Kangxi nian zhi doubt about a Kangxi attribution. 3
[made in the Kangxi reign of the great Qing dynasty] The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, has a yel-
low water pot that is also glazed yellow over the foot and
TECHNICAL NOTES base. It is said to have come from the collection of Prince
4
The fine-textured porcelain vessel has a translucent yellow glaze Gong, a member of the imperial family in the nineteenth
with very faint, fine crazing over all exterior surfaces and the neck century. The date of this water pot has also been recon-
interior. The calligraphy on the base appears darker than the sidered and has been changed from Kangxi to "date
usual blue, possibly the result of the yellow glaze covering blue. 1 5
uncertain." Fu Shen, curator of Chinese art at the Freer
Gallery of Art, Arthur M. Sadder Gallery, Washington,
PROVENANCE
Thomas B. Clarke [1848-1931], New York; sold 1913 to Peter A. B. compared the calligraphy in photographs of the bases of
Widener, Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania; inheri- the two pieces and expressed his opinion that it was so
tance from Estate of Peter A. B. Widener by gift through power of similar that 6 the inscriptions could very well be by the
appointment of Joseph E. Widener, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. same hand. The Widener piece was catalogued early as
being from Prince Gong's collection and a "companion"
piece to the Metropolitan Museum pot. Another, in the
EEHIVE" WATER POTS are usually seen in peachbloom Percival David Foundation, does not have a yellow-glazed
2
Bor sometimes pale blue glaze. This one, glazed in a base. 7 Although certainty is not possible, the present
pleasing amber yellow, is a rarity. It is shaped in accor- writer attributes the pot to the late Qing period, finding
dance with the standard prescribed form for such pots. the above opinions entirely convincing. In addition,
The dragon medallions, incised under the glaze and Clarence Shangraw of the Tsui Museum, Hong Kong,
spaced around the body, are like those on the peach- strongly supports a later attribution than Kangxi. He
bloom examples in the National Gallery collection mentions the "floating cobalt" in the mark as being a late
(1942.9.514 and 515). The translucent glaze has a slight nineteenth-century feature and notes that the profile
iridescence and a barely perceptible fine crackle. It covers flares more than the Kangxi "horse-hoof" shape.
the entire vessel, including the foot and base, in contrast Shangraw states that he has seen a number of taibozun of
to the peachbloom and blue monochromes, which have later production glazed in colors other than peachbloom
an exposed biscuit foot and white glazed base. Indeed, a that share the characteristics of the Widener piece. 8
foot-ring that has been glazed over is highly unusual on JK
Chinese porcelains. The attractive shade of yellow used
here shows a brownish tinge, especially where it has col- NOTES
lected in the thickened ring at the base and in the incised 1. A similar pot in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
lines of the dragon medallions. A mustard tone, typical (14.40.375), and the Widener piece have the same inscription, in
of many Kangxi yellow glazes, is also apparent. what appears to be the same color, described as black in the
This unusual pot has been an object of attention both Metropolitan's records.
because yellow glaze on beehive-shaped water pots is so 2. One of the eight prescribed shapes, also called taibozun (see
rarely seen, and because of certain technical features that Chait 1957,137).
differ from typical Kangxi porcelains, specifically from 3. Fong Chow, conversation with the author of 27 August 1963
peachbloom water pots. These include -the glazing in (in NGA curatorial files).
color of all surfaces except the interior, which has been 4. Ace. no. 14.40.375, from the Altman collection.
left unglazed, and the small spur marks on the glazed 5. The change was made and recorded on the Metropolitan
foot-ring. Some authorities have questioned the style of Museum of Art's catalogue card on 21 August 1972 by
the calligraphy on the Kangxi mark, although others Suzanne Valenstein.
have pointed out that marks of the Kangxi period vary 6. Fu Shen, conversation with the author of 17 March 1992 (in
greatly. Opinions as to the proper dating of this vessel NGA curatorial files).

134 D E C O R A T I V E A R T S