Page 85 - Decorative Arts, Part II: Far Eastern Ceramics and Paintings, Persian and Indian Rugs and Carpets

1942.9-514-515 (C-367-368)
"Beehive" Water Pots

Qing dynasty, Kangxi mark and period (1662-1722)
Porcelain with peachbloom glaze,
1942.9.514: 8.3 x 12.7 (314 x 5)
15
1942.9.515: 8.9 x 12.5 (3V2 x 4 /i6)
Widener Collection

INSCRIPTIONS
Inscribed in standard script on the base of both water pots in features of Kangxi peachbloom water pots, are delicately
underglaze blue in three widely spaced vertical columns of two incised in the clay body and spaced evenly around the
characters each: Da Qing Kangxi nian zhi [made in the Kangxi vessel. In both pieces, pigment has collected in the
reign of the great Qing dynasty] incised lines of the dragon medallions, the darker color
making the designs distinct.
TECHNICAL NOTES A single pot may have many color variations, from
1942.9.514: Two small dots of discoloration are found on the lip.
rose to pale or mossy green, in the form of splotches,
PROVENANCE mottling, or speckling. Each of these two pots has a
1
Possibly collection of Lord Kitchener [1942.9.515 only]. Thomas unique and fortuitous color effect. The glaze color of
B. Clarke [1848-1913], New York; sold 1916 to Peter A. B. Widener, 1942.9.514 is a deep shade of red and evenly distributed.
Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania; inheritance from The neck is also dark in color. The glaze surface of
Estate of Peter A. B. Widener by gift through power of appoint- 1942.9.515 is smooth and glossy. The short neck is pale in
ment of Joseph E. Widener after purchase by funds of the Estate. color, the pigment in the glaze having run down onto the
shoulder. From there the color has spread unevenly in
HE PEACHBLOOM "BEEHIVE" WATER POT is another of the the glaze over the rounded form to collect in the welt of
Teight prescribed classic peachbloom forms, described glaze at the base. The effect is a mottled appearance rang-
by Chait, which were made especially for the writing tables ing from soft ashy rose of varying depths of tone to a
of scholars, high-ranking officials, nobles, and perhaps for subdued green. Pieces of this quality have been eagerly
the emperor himself. 2 Described in English as beehive- sought by collectors in America and abroad. 3
shaped, the form usually has the Chinese name jizhaozun JK
(chicken-coop jar). Traditionally in China, chicks were
raised in bamboo baskets of roughly this form. An open-
ing at the top allowed feeding to take place. The same
shape in porcelain serves the calligrapher-painter well. A NOTES
small mouth at the top provides a convenient way to press 1. Widener collection records (in NGA curatorial files).
excess water from a brush. These broad-based receptacles, 2. Chait 1957,130-137. See the essay on Chinese ceramic tech-
generally semispherical or dome-shaped, are capacious niques for a listing of the eight shapes described by Chait.
and stable, and so are well designed for their use. The 3. Examples can be found in the following collections:
shape has also been called taibozun after the Tang poet, Li
The National Palace Museum in Taiwan: National
Taibo, for its fancied resemblance to his wine jar, which 1. Palace 1980-1981, pi. 55.
accompanies his reclining figure in popular images.
These two water pots from the Widener collection are 2. Baur Collection, Geneva: Ayers 1968—1974, 3: nos.
nearly identical in profile. Like other peachbloom vessels, A305, A313-316.
they have a white lip and interior; a neat glaze termina- 3. Seattle Art Museum: Seattle 1973, no. 157.
tion at the base; a fine-cut, narrow, smooth, and 4. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: Valenstein
unglazed biscuit foot; and typically a precisely written 1989, no. 238.
six-character reignmark in three columns in cobalt blue 5. Tokyo National Museum: Tokyo 1965, no. 657.
under the colorless glaze that covers the white base. 6. Philadelphia Museum of Art: Sekai tdji zenshu
Three circular stylized dragon medallions, standard 1975-1985,12: pi. 50.

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