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Flagon
Marked by: Unmarked
about 1600
Object Place: Europe, Probably London, England
Medium/Technique
Porcelain with underglaze blue decoration (China, Ming dynasty, probably Wan-li period [1573–1619]) with silver-gilt mounts
Dimensions
Overall: 34.5 x 17.8 x 16.4cm (13 9/16 x 7 x 6 7/16in.)
Credit Line
Theodora Wilbour Fund in memory of Charlotte Beebe Wilbour
Accession Number67.601
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsSilver
DescriptionThe porcelain bottle is in the form of a slightly flattened sphere, with a tall tapered neck. The decoration of a bird on a rock in a clump of bamboo is painted in under-glaze cobalt blue. The flagon rests on a spreading foot of silver gilt, stamped with fluted decoration; above is a molding stamped with diamonds. Three straps modeled with caryatid figures are joined to a molded stamped collar the base of the neck. The ear-shaped handle is in the form of two intertwined serpents with scrolling tails. The rim of the bottle is fitted with a silver collar stamped with a pattern of strapwork. The domed cover is chased with foliage against a matted ground; the finial is baluster shaped. The thumbpiece is X-shaped with molded bars above and below. The bottle is wheel thrown of a grayish porcelain paste, decorated in under-glaze blue, and glazed with a clear glaze of bluish hue. The silver foot is formed of molded and stamped wires. The three cast straps are pinned to the foot and to the collar, which is composed of molded and stamped wires. The cover is formed and chased; the collar around the rim of the bottle is formed of two pieces of sheet, stamped and seamed. The handle is formed of two pieces of twisted wire covered with wriggle-work. The ceramic body has been broken into many pieces and reconstructed.
ProvenanceLandgrave of Hesse (?). By 1929, Siegfried Kramarsky, Amsterdam; purchased from Rosenberg and Stiebel, New York, April 12, 1967, Theodora Wilbour Fund in memory of Charlotte Beebe Wilbour.