Jar with lions motif

Title

Year/Period

Ming dynasty, 17th century

Region

China

Object Type

jars

Material

blue-and-white (ceramic glaze), porcelain (material), cobalt blue (pigment), clay, ceramic glaze, overglaze (material)

Technique

glazing (coating process), throwing (pottery technique), underglazing, molding (forming), firing (technique), porcelain painting (image-making), free-hand drawing (technique), overglazing, enameling

Dimension

Object Size: 10.0 x 7.7 x 7.7 cm

Accession No.

2017-00276

Collection of

Asian Civilisations Museum

Credit Line

Gift of Pamela Hickley

The jar is decorated with lions and floral scrolls in the wucai style, which sees elements of the design painted in underglaze blue and combined with patterns executed in overglaze polychrome enamels. Although the term wucai literally means ‘five colours’, it actually denotes the use of a multitude of colours and does not always necessarily mean five. Wucai porcelain emerged during the sixteenth century and grew in popularity from the Jiajing period (1522–1566).