Covered box

Covered box. Mold-formed.
Clay: coarse porcelain.
Glaze: lead-silcate glaze, tinted green with copper, applied on the biscuit. Knob unglazed.
Decoration: mold-formed.
Mark: none.

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Historical period(s)
Ming dynasty, late 16th century
Medium
Porcelain with enamel glazes over biscuit
Style
Zhangzhou ware
Dimensions
H x Diam (assembled): 4.4 x 4.4 cm (1 3/4 x 1 3/4 in)
Geography
China, Fujian province, Zhangzhou, possibly Tiankeng kiln group
Credit Line
Gift of Ambassador and Mrs. Jack W. Lydman
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Accession Number
S2010.2a-b
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Container
Type

Box

Keywords
China, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644), porcelain, Zhangzhou ware
Provenance

From 1965-69 to 2005
Ambassador Jack Wilson Lydman (1914-2005), acquired in Jakarta, Indonesia between 1965 and 1969. [1]

From 2005 to 2010
Janine Lydman, Washington, DC and Berryville, Virginia, ownership transferred to Mrs. Lydman after the death of her husband, Ambassador Jack Wilson Lydman. [2]

From 2010
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Washington, DC and Janine Lydman, Berryville, Virginia. [3]

Notes:

[1] See Curatorial Remark 2 in the object record.

[2] See note 1.

[3] See note 1. See Deed of Gift, object file, Collections Management Office.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Mrs. Janine Lydman
Ambassador Jack Wilson Lydman 1914-2005

Description

Covered box. Mold-formed.
Clay: coarse porcelain.
Glaze: lead-silcate glaze, tinted green with copper, applied on the biscuit. Knob unglazed.
Decoration: mold-formed.
Mark: none.

Label

Specific kilns in the Zhangzhou complex in southern Fujian province produced boxes of this sort, molded of porcelain clay and glazed on the biscuit with lead-silicate enamel glazes in shades of green, yellow, and purple. Caches of such brightly-glazed containers have been unearthed on the island of Sulawesi, although they are rarely found elsewhere in Indonesia.

Published References
  • Louise Allison Cort, George Williams, David P. Rehfuss. Ceramics in Mainland Southeast Asia. Washington. .
Collection Area(s)
Chinese Art
Web Resources
Ceramics in Mainland Southeast Asia
Google Cultural Institute
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