4.
A ‘BLUE AND WHITE’ GARLIC-HEAD EWER
Ming dynasty, Jiajing mark and of the period
27,4 cm high
Da Ming Jiajing nianzhi six-character mark.
Naples, Villa della Floridiana, Museo Duca di Martina, collezione Placido de Sangro (1829-1891).
inv. n. 3724.
The ewer is painted with the local Chinese cobalt blue pigment with a foliate lotus scroll decoration around the body. The lotus is one of the Eight Buddhist Emblems, bajixiang, and symbolises purity. The long-faceted spout is painted with flame scrolls.
The shape of the ewer – inspired by metal prototypes from Central Asia – suggests it was made early in the Jiajing period, circa 1520s.
The garlic-head bulb can be seen in Chinese metal wares as early as the Han dynasty. However the form with the supporting S shaped strut was introduced in the Yuan dynasty, during the first half of the fourteenth century, with the shape further evolving during the early Ming period.
A related example but with a tall spreading foot, Jiajing four-character mark and period, is in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul (R. Krahl, Chinese Ceramics in the Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul, 3 voll., London 1986, n. 1005).
