Objects for Daily Use
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Bottle North China Northern Song period (960�1127), late 11th�early 12th century Stoneware with slip and trailed slip under glaze (Cizhou ware) H. 8 1/8 in. (20.6 cm); Diam. 7 3/4 in. (19.7 cm) Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.143 |
The easy-to-handle size of this vessel and its flaring lip suggest that it was used to serve wine. The overall shape resembles the upper half of a full-size "plum bottle" (meiping) and is therefore generally called "truncated meiping" in English. Such bottles were only produced from the late eleventh century through the twelfth century. The method of decoration on this bottle is sophisticated and is similar to that found in other Cizhou wares. The light gray body was first covered with a brown slip. The vertical white ribs were then added by attaching stripes of thick, white slip onto the surface. Finally, the bottle was coated with a thin layer of brown glaze that appears almost black.
