Creative Commons License
Bottle Vase
(China )
Two Fu-Lions within a landscape are painted in underglaze cobalt blue on this pear shaped bottle vase. The pair of lions play beneath the shade of a pine tree, which reaches up the neck where the moon is visible from its branches. The rocks behind the tree sprout cherry branches and bamboo, combining with the pine to complete a trio of winter plants symbolizing longevity. A couple of bats, emblems of happiness, fly together on the other side of the vase. Great control of brush stroke appears in the highly articulated textures of the scene and its creatures. A wash of cobalt blue, applied in brushy strokes similarly to watercolor upon paper, sets the moon forward from a dark night sky. Faint crackle appears in the glaze allover.
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 Collection, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.
Geographies
China (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 15 1/2 in. (39.3 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by William T. or Henry Walters
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.
49.1611