Page 4 - Met Museum Export Porcelain 2003

I. Ewer. Chinese (Portuguese
market), Ming dynasty
(I368-I644), Zhengde period
(I506-2I), ca. 1520. Hard
paste. H. 73/8 in. (I8.7 cm).
Apocryphal mark of the
Xuande period (I426-35).
Helena WoolworthMcCann
Collection, Purchase, Winfield
Foundation Gift, 196I (61.196)

TheIslamicformof this ewer
is a reminderthat the West
camelate to the exporttrade,
and its impromptunatureis
further emphasizedbythe
royalPortuguesearmspainted
upsidedown. Thelikelihoodof
porcelainshaving beenproduced
duringthefirst directcontact
betweenPortugaland China
haslongbeendebated,but the
physicalcharacteristicosf this
ewer-its distinctlygreenish
glaze, mild bluepainting, and
mistysurface-place it in that
inauguralperiod.

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