Vase with a Scholar in a Landscape Artist: Unknown

17th century

Asian Art

On view, 2nd floor, Asian Art

Painted in shades of cobalt blue, this vase depicts a scholar-gentleman and his attendants standing on a promontory overlooking a body of water. The moon in the background and the lush foliage suggest that the scene takes place on a summer evening, either at the beginning or the end of an outing. The narrative quality of the image is typical of works produced at Jingdezhen in the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when themes from painting, literature, and the theater first appeared on porcelain. Changes in shapes and designs at this time illustrate Jingdezhen’s response to the flagging of court patronage, due to political and economic turmoil.

Medium

Porcelain with cobalt blue under clear glaze

Dimensions

17 1/2 × 4 15/16 in. (44.5 × 12.5 cm)
exterior case: 20 1/16 × 8 1/16 × 7 7/8 in. (51 × 20.5 × 20 cm)

Credit Line

Leonard C. Hanna, Jr., Class of 1913, Fund

Accession Number

2017.72.1

Geography

China

Culture

Chinese

Period

Ming dynasty (1368–1644), Chongzhen period (1628–44)

Classification

Containers

Disclaimer

Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance
Private Collection, Hong Kong
Lally & Co, New York, Number 1994
Private Collection, Hong Kong by 1981
Christie’s, London, Fine Chinese Ceramics, Bronzes and Works of Art,
July 28, 1975, Lot 105 (The Property of The Lord Barnard T.D. removed from Raby Castle)
Prior to 1975 in the Collection of Raby Castle, County Durham, England
The Chinese porcelain collection at Raby Castle was formed by the 3rd Earl of Darlington, William Henry (1766-1842), who later became Duke of Cleveland in 1833. The Earl created a Chinese style drawing room at Raby Castle, furnished with a vast collection of Chinese and Japanese porcelains and was honoured in 1805 by a visit by the Prince Regent (later King George IV), who shared the Earl’s interest in Chinese and Japanese porcelains.


Bibliography
  • "Acquisitions July 1, 2016–June 30, 2017," Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin (2017), 17
Object copyright
No Copyright - United States
Additional information

Object/Work type

vases

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