Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Double-Gourd-Shaped Vase
(China )
This double lobed gourd-shaped vase is one of a pair; together they are elements in a garniture, a set of five to seven Chinese porcelain vessels displayed over doors or mantels. Garniture sets were often produced for foreign markets in Europe. These vases are painted with shades of cobalt blue beneath the glaze and are divided into two sections of decoration. The upper portion includes three quatrefoil medallions containing sprays of blossoming prunus branches with birds. The lower section contains quadrupeds in varied frames; an elephant is depicted in a pomegranate frame, a lion with one foot on a ball stands in a ficus-leaf medallion and the mystical and chimerical qilin is depicted in a palm leaf. The two halves are divided by bands of zigzag patterns. A floral ground of large blossoms and intricate in-fill of tiny leaves appears on both halves. Stylized chrysanthemum scrolls act as borders to the upper rim and the foot.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
William T. Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; inherited by Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1894; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.
Geographies
China (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 17 1/8 in. (43.5 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by William T. Walters
Location in Museum
Charles Street: Second Floor: 17th-Century Dutch Cabinet Rooms
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
49.1647
