Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Jar with Jesuit Monogram
This blue and white jar painted with outline and wash cobalt blue designs and symbols is an example of export porcelain and the influence of Jesuit missionaries in China. The bulbous body with a tall rimmed mouth, curved waist and everted foot is decorated with traditional Chinese motifs of lotuses, reeds, and flying insects. One side is marked prominently with the mark of the Jesuit Order; the monogram "IHS' for "Iesous Hominum Salvator" ("Jesus, savior of man"), accented with a cross and placed above three converging nails, appears in a quatrefoil frame.
In the middle Ming period in the early 16th century, the Portuguese became a principle maritime power in the Far East and soon developed a flourishing trade in Chinese blue and white porcelain for the European market and for countries in Southeast Asia. Jesuit missionaries also traveled throughout China, often commissioning their own porcelain.
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. or Henry Walters, before 1899 [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.
Exhibitions
| 2009-2010 | Imagining China: The View from England, 1550-1700. Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington. |
| 1980-1981 | Masterpieces of Chinese Porcelain. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Geographies
China (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 3 9/16 x Diam: 3 5/8 in. (9.1 x 9.21 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by William T. Walters before 1899
Location in Museum
Not on view
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.
49.943