Small vase
probably late 18th century
Medium
Porcelain painted in underglaze blue.
Dimensions
Height: 13.5 cm.
Classification
Ceramics
Culture
Chinese
Department
Robert Lehman Collection
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
Accession Number
1975.1.1691
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate small vase, standing just 13.5 cm tall, exemplifies the refined artistry of late 18th-century Chinese porcelain from the Qing. Crafted in the renowned Jingdezhen kilns—China's porcelain capital—and painted in underglaze blue it features floral motifs that bloom vividly against a pristine white body. The underglaze technique, where pigment is applied to the unfired clay before a transparent glaze is added and the piece is fired at high temperatures, ensures the blue designs are embedded deeply, resisting wear and retaining their luster over centuries. Blue-and-white porcelain lik...
About the Artist
Chinese
The artist known simply as "Chinese" in museum records represents the vast tradition of anonymous or unattributed masters in Chinese art history, with 99 works preserved in our collection. These pieces exemplify the enduring legacy of guó huà, or traditional Chinese painting, one of the world's oldest continuous artistic practices. Early life is not well documented, as is common for many practitio...