Page 43 - For the Love of Porcelain

The Intimate Charm From September 2016 to June 2017 the Princessehof National museum of Ceramics presents

of Ceramics the exhibition Sexy Ceramics. it explores the erotic and sensual associations of historical and

contemporary ceramics from both the east and the West.
eline van den Berg

In this contribution I focus on the East-Asian
ceramics on display. One of the symbolic
highlights in the exhibition is a figure that
is also described in Eva Ströber’s inspiring
book Symbols on Chinese Porcelain: 10,000 x
1
Happiness. It concerns a Cizhou figure from
the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) depicting
Shoulao, the Daoist God of Longevity (fig.
1). He is recognised by his long beard and
characteristic elongated, bald cranium,
which symbolises wisdom and longevity.
One explanation for how he obtained this
phallus-like cranium, also suggested by
Ströber, are the sexual practices performed in
1 Daoism. These were supposed to increase a
Figure of Shoulao, Ming man’s vital energy by him bringing a woman
dynasty, 1600 - 50, to orgasm and absorbing her yin essence.
h. 25.7 cm, w. 8 cm, Men, however, were to refrain from losing
Princessehof National their yang essence and use it for their own
Museum of Ceramics, benefit. 2 The flow of these essences into
Leeuwarden, the man’s body would replenish his brain.
inv. no. GMP 1969-001 Judging from the size of his enormous
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cranium the god Shoulao was clearly an not do justice to what is actually shown. In 2
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adept in this practice. this particular dish our eye is immediately Dish with decoration
drawn to the lady’s uncovered leg and her of woman in a garden,
Another interesting piece in the exhibition bound feet. In China the tradition of bound Qing dynasty, mid -18th
is a small dish from the Qianlong period feet, which began during the Song dynasty century, porcelain,
(1736–95) with a decoration of an elegant (960–1279), has a clear erotic connotation. d. 19.8 cm, Princessehof
lady seated in a rather suggestive pose (fig. A woman’s feet were considered to be an National Museum of
2). Most depictions of women in Chinese intimate part of her body, only to be seen Ceramics, Leeuwarden,
art are simply described as ‘beautiful by herself, her mother and after she married, inv. no. NO 02365
women’; however, when taking note of her husband. In some sources there is even (on loan from the Ottema
the attributes surrounding them it often mention of men cleaning and sucking their Kingma Foundation)
becomes clear that this description does wife’s feet. In the Qing period (1644–1911)
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