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

This technique of painted decoration in brown on brown did not lend itself for fine detail. Inscriptions were therefore rarely attempted. The inscribed character xi on this vessel, literally meaning ‘a mat’ and in an extended sense, ‘a feast’ or ‘entertainment’, documents the use of this piece as a wine container. A jar in the Shanghai Museum, decorated in a similar way with large-scale motifs, is inscribed with a date equivalent to 1318 (Zhongguo taoci quanji [Complete series on Chinese ceramics], vol.10, Shanghai, 2000, pl.199).

The tall ovoid bottle has well-rounded sides with a very low, narrow neck with emphasized rim flange, flanked by two double-stranded loop handles. The base is slightly recessed and curves towards a low footring. The sides show strong horizontal turning marks. The overall dark olive-green ‘tea-dust’ glaze is matt and densely crazed, painted in dark brown with a large flower spray on one side, a smaller lotus spray below one handle, a leaf spray on the reverse, and the character xi (‘for entertainment’) under the other handle, the base is largely glazed, with much grit adhering to the edge, the underside of the foot unglazed showing the buff-coloured body.