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CHINESE OBJECTS FROM THE COLLECTION
Chinese Bronzes of the Shang and Zhou Periods
Han Dynasty Bronzes
Early Chinese Ceramics
Sculpture from Tombs
Chinese Buddhist Sculpture
Tang and Liao Dynasty Metalwork
Ceramics of the Song and Jin Periods
Porcelains of the Yuan and Early Ming Periods
Imperial Chinese Ceramics of the 15th Century
Ceramics of the Late Ming Period
Qing Dynasty Porcelain
Landscape Painting in China
Jade and Lacquer in China
Vase
China, Jiangxi Province; Ming (1368) to Qing (1644-1911) period, 17th century
Porcelain painted with underglaze cobalt blue and copper red (Jingdezhen ware)
H. 39 1/2 in. (100.3 cm); D. 15 in. (38.1 cm)
Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection of Asian Art
1979.185
This large, zun-shaped vase painted with a design of squirrels and grapes may represent an important link between Transitional wares, produced during the changeover from the Ming to the Qing dynasty, and early imperial Qing ceramics. Smaller porcelains in this shape produced during the reign of the Kangxi emperor (1622 - 1723) are common, but the lively manner in which the squirrels and grapes are painted is more comparable to the type of painting found on Transitional wares than to the structured compositions and precise images on Kangxi porcelains. The motif of squirrels and grapes is a rebus wishing the owner of the jar longevity: in Chinese the words for squirrel and pine tree are pronounced the same, and in this motif, the squirrel replaces the pine tree as a symbol for old age. The words for grape and peach are also homonyms, and here the grape replaces the peach as a symbol of immortality.
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