Bottle

India, China, Jiangxi Province
Ming period, early 15th century (probably Yongle era 1403-1424)
Porcelain with incised design under glaze (Jingdezhen ware)
H. 12 1/2 in. (31.8 cm), W. 8 1/8 in.; 1979.156

 

Artist Comments


Malavika Sarukkai
Looking like frozen moonlight, ethereal yet practical-a bottle. Its harmonious shape, at once seemingly round, is liquid with beauty. The shape and color recall a white lotus, fragile yet firmly rooted in the earth. The bottle reaches upwards, like a lotus thirsting for rain; it suggests a deep yearning to be filled. By what? Moonlight, water, spirituality....