Jar with Rocks, Peonies, and Birds in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, August 2023

Title: Jar decorated with rock, peonies, and birds

Period: Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Shunzhi (1644–61)–Kangxi (1662–1722) period

Date: mid- to late 17th century

Culture: China

Medium: Porcelain painted in underglaze cobalt blue and overglaze enamels (Jingdezhen ware)

Dimensions: H. 11 5/8 in. (29.5 cm) ; Diam. 10 in. (25.4 cm)

Classification: Ceramics

Credit Line: Bequest of Mary Clark Thompson, 1923

Accession Number: 24.80.164a, b

This colorful jar follows the traditional enameling technique developed during the fifteenth century. Featuring a solid tone, the overglaze enamels are polychromatic but blue appears only in the underglaze, as seen in the outlines around the jar’s neck, shoulder, and base. The dominant use of green, appearing in different hues on rocks, leaves, and the birds’ feathers, is typical of the period. Wares of this type are often identified in the West with the French term famille verte, or “green family.”

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/42394