Page 79 - Decorative Arts, Part II: Far Eastern Ceramics and Paintings, Persian and Indian Rugs and Carpets

glaze. 1942.9.521 has dappled dark and light peachbloom
coloration. Some moss green appears on the thirty petals,
as well as on the foot and on the inside and underside of
4
the mouth. The deep "haricot-red" color is predominant
in the glaze of 1942.9.523. There is green shading on the
neck, becoming deeper at the lip, the edge of which is pale
pink. Dark green streaks down the inside of the mouth
into the neck. Delicate pink outlines the petals.
The narrow shapes of the petals on these vases seem to
resemble the chrysanthemum more than the lotus. The
Shanghai Museum considers the petals above the base of
5
this type to be chrysanthemum, but the tradition of a
lotus petal band at the base or forming the sides of a
ceramic vessel reaches back many centuries. Although
conventionalized in various ways, the lotus petal motif in
a band at the base is more readily identified by shape in
blue-and-white porcelain of the Ming dynasty than in
the formal band on the eighteenth-century peachbloom
vases. In sculpture and painting, the lotus flower as a
pedestal or seat for Buddhist deities is familiar. The
Chinese have been conservative in their repertoire of
forms and motifs, and this one has been often repeated.
There is an even more striking Buddhist reference in
this form of long-necked bottle vase with ovoid body; it
Qing dynasty, Kangxi mark and period is frequently seen in representations of Guanyin as an
(1662-1722), Petal-decorated Vases, attribute of the bodhisattva. 6 By the eighteenth century,
back row (left to right): Buddhist symbolism had become all but buried in tradi-
1942.9.522,1942.9.511-512 tion. The well-proportioned and graceful form became a
front row (left to right): classic and popular type.
1942.9.521,1942.9.513 JK

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