Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Ashmolean − Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

The Barlow Collection

A select catalogue of the Barlow collection of Chinese Ceramics, Bronzes and Jades by the University of Sussex (published Sussex, 2006).

The Barlow Collection by the University of Sussex

Publications online: 456 objects

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Greenware fang gu, or square vase, with carp and trigram decoration

  • loan
  • Literature notes

    The tall vases are imitating a metal form (fang gu), of rectangular section, moulded in two vertical halves, with a wide squared centre, angled shoulder collar, waisted neck with everted rim, raised ribs in the middle, flanked by two fish handles, and waisted lower part with baluster-shaped foot. The fish are well modelled as carp, with ring-shaped eyes, curved bodies with overlapping scales, and forked tails. Front and reverse are similarly decorated in moulded relief, each with two identical trigrams, consisting of three unbroken lines, on a lozenge-diaper ground on one side and a honey-comb diaper on the reverse, enclosed in panels with foliate surrounds. The shoulder collar shows moulded petal motifs, the lower part petal panels on either side of central raised ribs, and the foot is decorated with bulbous ruyi motifs simulating shaped legs of a pedestal. A luting line is visible at the neck. The opaque olive-green glaze leaves the footring exposed in the brick-red biscuit.
  • Details

    Associated place
    AsiaChinaZhejiang province Longquan kilns (place of creation)
    Date
    14th - 15th century (1301 - 1500)
    Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644)
    Material and technique
    stoneware, slab-built and luted together with slip, with incised and moulded decoration under a green glaze
    Dimensions
    25.8 x 8.4 x 6.5 cm (height x width x depth)
    Material index
    Technique index
    Object type index
    No. of items
    1
    Credit line
    Lent by the Sir Alan Barlow Collection Trust.
    Accession no.
    LI1301.77.1
  • Further reading

    University of Sussex, and Arts and Humanities Research Council, The Barlow Collection, supervised by Regina Krahl, Maurice Howard, and Aiden Leeves (Sussex: University of Sussex, 2006), no. C48

Glossary (5)

glaze, gu, luted, slip, stoneware

  • glaze

    Vitreous coating applied to the surface of a ceramic to make it impermeable or for decorative effect.

  • gu

    Chinese ritual wine vessel with flaring mouth and foot.

  • luted

    The fusion of parts of ceramics using dilute clay slip.

  • slip

    A semi-fluid clay applied to a ceramic before glazing either to coat the surface or for decorative effect.

  • stoneware

    Ceramic material made of clay which is fired to a temperature of c.1200-1300⁰c and is often buff or grey in colour.

Location

    • currently in research collection

Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.

 

Publications online

  • The Barlow Collection by the University of Sussex

    The Barlow Collection

    The tall vases are imitating a metal form (fang gu), of rectangular section, moulded in two vertical halves, with a wide squared centre, angled shoulder collar, waisted neck with everted rim, raised ribs in the middle, flanked by two fish handles, and waisted lower part with baluster-shaped foot. The fish are well modelled as carp, with ring-shaped eyes, curved bodies with overlapping scales, and forked tails. Front and reverse are similarly decorated in moulded relief, each with two identical trigrams, consisting of three unbroken lines, on a lozenge-diaper ground on one side and a honey-comb diaper on the reverse, enclosed in panels with foliate surrounds. The shoulder collar shows moulded petal motifs, the lower part petal panels on either side of central raised ribs, and the foot is decorated with bulbous ruyi motifs simulating shaped legs of a pedestal. A luting line is visible at the neck. The opaque olive-green glaze leaves the footring exposed in the brick-red biscuit.
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