Description:
Chinese export porcelain teapot decorated with a lotus-petal design in the Famille rose palette of shades of pink, green, iron red, blue, and gilding. The Chinese considered the lotus ('nelumbo nucifero'), a plant native to China, to be a powerful symbol with several meanings: association with harmony since the Chinese name, 'hehua', and the word for harmony have the same pronunciation; symbol of Buddha representing his purity and transcendence; symbol of fertility and abundance with its seed pod representing the wish for many children, especially sons; and symbol of Daoism where it is the emblem of 'He Xian Gu', one of the eight Daoist immortals. The lotus was both a popular design on Chinese porcelain found on ceramics as early as the Han dynasty (206 B.C. - 9 A.D.) and in the export market; while Westerners appreciated the design, few understood its significance to Chinese culture. Godden suggests that the above average quality of these wares meant that they were Private Trade goods ordered by the individual supercargoes, but Howard states that it is likely that larger consignments were also ordered by the East India companies. The body is formed as a pink lotus flower with overlapping variegated pink petals and a green "leaf-wrapped" spout and coil handle. The dark-blue flat pod-top has a band of pink and gold 'seeds.' The lighter blue, flat lid, which sits in the rim, has a band of raised gold dots around a flattened round finial. The pot sits on three applied, short stump feet.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+62.220 |
