1989.101.a-b Bottle with lid

The glassy, pale green glaze covering this handsome jar is typical of early Song-dynasty works and a precursor to the thick, opaque celadon glazes of the later Song period.  The elongated, ovoid body was incised with vertical grooves to produce the gently lobed, six sectioned form, which is modeled after silver vessels from the Near East.  The bottle is unusual in that the trumpet neck, which flares to a sharply formed, dish-shaped mouth, is surmounted by a lid with an upturned rim.

The shape and glaze of this elegant piece suggest an attribution to the Yue kilns in northern Zhejiang province.  But other features, such as the quality of the clay body and the glassy glaze, as well as the irregularity of the glaze color, indicate that the bottle may be an early product of the Longquan kiln in southern Zhejiang province.  In the 10th or early 11th century, when this jar was manufactured, those kilns experienced strong influences from the more ancient and time-honored traditions of the Yue potters farther north.

"Tall bottle with lid," in Dallas Museum of Art: A Guide to the Collection, ed. Suzanne Kotz (Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art; New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1997), 40.

apply to objects where number equals 1989.101.a-b