Page 97 - Decorative Arts, Part II: Far Eastern Ceramics and Paintings, Persian and Indian Rugs and Carpets

1942.9.495-496 (C-348-349)

Pair of Vases, Meiping Shape

Qing dynasty, Kangxi mark and period (1662-1722)
Porcelain with pale blue glaze,
1
3
1942.9.495: 21.3 x 10.8 (8 /s x 4 A)
1942.9.496: 21.8 x 10.5 (8%> x 4Vs)
Widener Collection
INSCRIPTIONS
1
Inscribed on each vase in standard script on the base in vessel. The two in New York differ so considerably that
underglaze blue in three vertical lines of two characters each: even if they had not been acquired from different
Da Qing Kangxi nian zhi [made in the Kangxi reign of the great patrons at different times, there is little chance that they
Qing dynasty] would have been regarded as mates. In contrast, the only
significant difference between these two vases is the
TECHNICAL NOTES slightly lower foot and slightly longer neck of 1942.9.496.
1942.9.495: A large chip appears on the flange at the bottom. The meiping, or "plum blossom vase," is a vase with a
There are a few minor glaze flaws, including two small worm-
like lines below and to the left of the chip, and some pinholes small mouth, wide shoulder, and tall body tapering up
and scattered dark spots in both the blue glaze and the usual uninterruptedly from a mildly everted base. The most
colorless glaze that covers the shallow white base. The glaze distinctive feature of all four of these vases is the trum-
thins along the raised edges of the ridge around the neck, on the petlike lower edge that extends over the round foot.
two semicircular "ears" located on the shoulder, along the More standard examples of the type, such as the apple-
slightly rolled neck, and on the somewhat pointed edge of the green vase (1942.9.536), display only a slight outward
overhang at the base. The fainter blue of these areas contrasts curve at the base and lack a distinct raised foot-ring as in
with the stronger blue of those nearby sections of pooled glaze. these pale blue vases. Nevertheless, the Palace Museum,
The rest of the vase is evenly colored with a pale blue midway Beijing, refers to its example as a meiping, which indi-
between the two extremes. 1942.9.496: As with the other vases cates that their scholars regard this form as a develop-
of this type in the National Gallery collection, the pale blue ment of the original form, or else as an acceptable
glaze thins at the edges of the neck and flaring foot, and along
the neck ridge and on the two semicircular ears on the shoul- variant. Probably because vases of this type do not con-
der, and thickens and darkens in the adjacent areas. A rather form to the standard meiping shape, they have been given
large glaze pinhole can be seen at the upper part of the mouth, other appellations over the years, none of which has
and a tiny glaze eruption appears along the neck ridge. A few enjoyed universal acceptance. 2
dark spots and pinholes are scattered over the surface. Authors have also used different terms to refer to the
two semicircular ear motifs on the shoulders of this type
PROVENANCE of vase. They are referred to as ruyi heads or hearts in the
Richard Bennett, Northampton, England; sold 1911 to (Gorer, early publications of the Bennett collection and in notes
London); (Dreicer & Co., New York, agent for Gorer, London); on the Widener collection, where they were described as
sold 1913 to Peter A. B. Widener, Lynnewood Hall, Elkins Park, having the form of the lingzhi fungus of immortality. 3
Pennsylvania; inheritance from Estate of Peter A. B. Widener by Since the terminals of the ruyi scepter—a wand made of
gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener,
Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. rare material and presented to someone as an auspicious
gift, since ruyi literally means "as you wish"—were often
described as being in the shape of the lingzhi, it is not
LL FOUR OF THE PALE BLUE VASES of meiping shape in the surprising to see both terms used almost interchangeably
ANational Gallery collection originally belonged to to describe semicircular ear motifs. 4 However, these
Richard Bennett. Bennett regarded them as pairs, and may motifs are not as complex as most multi-lobed ruyi and
well have acquired them as such. In any case he sold them lingzhi. This may explain why they are said to have the
as pairs, with Gorer as his agent, to Peter A. B. Widener. shape of the new (crescent) moon in the description of
5
The pairs (1942.9.495 and 496; 1942.9.497 and 498) differ the vase in the Palace Museum, Beijing. Among other
somewhat in height, weight, and proportion, but the vases Qing vessels their closest counterparts are the C-shaped,
are convincingly well matched within each pair. vertically oriented decorations that appear on certain
Of the three other known examples of this type, all celadon jars dated to the late seventeenth or early eigh-
bearing Kangxi marks—two in the collection of the teenth century and sometimes described as also having a
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and one in the crescent moon shape. 6
Palace Museum, Beijing—none is paired with another VB

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