Blue and white stemcup with dragon motif

Title

Year/Period

Yuan dynasty (1279-1368)

Region

Jingdezhen kilns, Jiangxi province, China

Object Type

cups (drinking vessels)

Material

porcelain (material), cobalt blue (pigment)

Technique

throwing (pottery technique), underglazing, pottery techniques

Dimension

Object size: 9.2 x 10.7 cm

Accession No.

1997-04802

Collection of

Asian Civilisations Museum

This blue and white stemcup features a two-horned and three-clawed dragon chasing a flaming pearl around the exterior, and a classic scroll around the rim of the cup. The interior of the stemcup is painted with a central motif of a pearl in flames, a motif also found on the exterior but with a dragon chasing it, characteristic of Yuan style. This stemcup would not have qualified as an imperial ware as only two-horned and five-clawed dragons were used at court. Hence, this stemcup was most likely used as a drinking vessel for daily domestic use. There were numerous pieces of such stemcups uncovered in the Yuan capital, Dadu in present day Beijing, and in Inner Mongolia, which attest to their popularity.