Accession Number
1991/1.96

Title
Beaker with mottled green drip glaze

Artist(s)
Annam; Kiln Unknown, Vietnam

Object Creation Date
16th century

Medium & Support
stoneware with a mottled, dripped green glaze

Dimensions
4 1/2 in. x 4 15/16 in. x 4 15/16 in. ( 11.5 cm x 12.5 cm x 12.5 cm )

Credit Line
Gift of Helmut Stern

Label copy
March 28, 2009
These finely potted vessels with monochrome glaze were used locally by monks and officials, as well as exported to southern islands for burial. Vietnamese wares were admired for their fine-grained clays free from impurities and the skill with which they were worked. The advanced kiln technology of firing these fine stonewares, once known only in China, was gradually transmitted to Vietnam and Thailand as the ceramic trade market expanded and potters emigrated. Decorative techniques, such as the mottled green glaze seen here—achieved by applying small dots of wax before glazing—and the motifs of lotus petals and leaf scrolls in the two yellow-green pots, also came from China. The interior spots (called spur marks) in the beaker with leaf scroll pattern are the remnants from clay pads inserted between pots during firing to prevent fusing. The unglazed ring in the green glazed beaker is the result of a clay ring used for the same purpose.
(Label for UMMA South and Southest Asia Gallery Opening Rotation, March 2009)

Subject matter
A beaker.

Physical Description
A finely potted deep stoneware beaker with a rounded bottom and a mottled, dark green glaze. The attractive glaze effect is achieved by applying small dots of a wax over the entire surface of the vessel, and then pouring the glaze from the top down. Unglazed ring interior is the result from a clay ring to separate one pot from another in firing.

Primary Object Classification
Ceramic

Primary Object Type
bowl

Additional Object Classification(s)
Decorative Arts

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
beakers (pouring vessels)
bowls (vessels)
stoneware (pottery)