Page 7 - Chinese Export Porcelain Art, MET MUSEUM 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 Woolworth McCann
Collection, Purchase, Winfield
Foundation Gift, 196I (61.196)

The Islamicform of this ewer
is a reminder that the West
came late to the export trade,
and its impromptu nature is
further emphasized by the
royal Portuguese arms painted
upside down. The likelihood of
porcelains having been produced
during thefirst direct contact
between Portugal and China
has long been debated, but the
physical characteristics this
of
ewer-its distinctly greenish
glaze, mild blue painting, and
misty surface-place it in that
inauguralperiod.

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