Title
Ewer with dragon-head stopper
Year/Period
Tang dynasty, around 830s
Region
Probably Gongxian kilns, Henan province, China
Object Type
Material
Dimension
Object Size: Mouth diameter - 10.2cm
Accession No.
2005.1-00900
Collection of
Credit Line
The Tang Shipwreck was acquired through the generous donation of the Estate of Khoo Teck Puat.
This tall ewer is the most spectacular of the ceramics found on the wreck. The body is decorated with green splashes and incised with lozenge patterns that have floral sprays emanating from the corners. This lozenge-and-floral motif is an Abbasid design seen on other objects in the wreck. This is a clue that much of the cargo was destined for the Persian Gulf. Its shape and details, such as the strap across the base of the handle, are modelled on metalwork. A similar ewer with a long handle and dragon-head stopper—but older, smaller and in gilded bronze—was preserved at the Horyu-ji Buddhist temple in Nara, Japan (and part of the Tokyo National Museum collection today).
