Lidded Ginger Jar
MakerMade by
Unknown
Datemid 19th century
MediumWheel-thrown Chinese export porcelain with underglaze cobalt blue decoration
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (height including lid x diameter): 12 x 9in. (30.5cm)
ClassificationsCeramics
Credit LineBequest of George Dudley Seymour
DescriptionRound, heavy, Chinese export porcelain lidded ginger jar with a hand-painted underglaze cobalt blue pattern. The decoration on the jar (.a) consists of trees with sprigs of white plum blossoms on a blue background. The background is made up of a field of hexagons filled in with wide, wavy blue lines filling each shape. The round, flat-topped lid (.b) is covered in the same decoration. This pattern is known as cracked ice, or, the Hawthorne design, as the dark blue background is meant to imitate the appearance of cracked ice on a river. Imperfections in the porcelain appear as black dots on the surface of the jar and lid.
Object number1945.1.1400a-b
MarkingsThe bottom of the jar has a hand-painted, underglaze blue mark of a double circle with no characters inside.NotesHistorical Note: Jars such as this one are known as 'prunus blossom' jars for their decoration of sprigs of plum blossoms against a blue background. These were used for holding ginger and were known as 'ginger jars'. This style originated in the later seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, and has been copied ever since. (Hunt 9/8/2004)Subject Terms
On View
Not on view
