Lot Essay
Monk's-cap ewers were used in ritual ceremonies of the Lamaist sect of Buddhism, and were mostly made in metal. According to historical texts, Halima, a highly influential lama of the Karma-pa sect of Tibet, attended in Nanjing in 1407 at the specific invitation of the Emperor Yongle the religious services to honour his deceased parents; on his arrival, the Emperor presented Halima with lavish gifts. It is highly likely that white-glazed monk's cap ewers with Tibetan inscriptions were made in Jingdezhen by order of the Emperor for this purpose. For a discussion on Yongle ewers of this form and their excavation from an early Yongle stratum (Stratum Five) in Zhushan Road, Jingdezhen, see Liu Xinyuan, Imperial Porcelain of the Yongle and Xuande Periods Excavated from the Site of the Ming Imperial Factory at Jingdezhen, 1989, colour plate no.8, pp.98 and 99, where an example without Tibetan characters is illustrated, and p. 59, fig.4 for a drawing of a ewer incised with a Tibetan inscription found at the same site. Most of the recorded white-glazed ewers of this period have a tianbai ('sweet white') glaze. However, it is interesting to note that the present lot has a more bluish-white glaze, and is in this way reminiscent of the Yuan qingbai monk's cap ewer and cover, excavated in a Ming Dynasty tomb in 1965, now in the Shoudu Museum, Nanjing, illustrated in Song and Yuan Qingbai Porcelain, Zhongguo Taoci Quanji, vol.16, no.135 and also in Collection of Masterpieces of Chinese Cultural Relics - Ceramics, Hong Kong, 1993, fig.606, p.349.
It is extremely rare to find ewers of this type with Yongle nianzhi marks and with original covers. Only two other examples are known to exist: one is in the Tsui Museum of Art, Hong Kong, illustrated in Splendour of Ancient Chinese Art, Selections from the Collections of T. T. Tsui Galleries of Chinese Art Worldwide, 1996, colour pl. 42; the other is in the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, recently acquired and as yet unpublished. This latter example has a leather case, possibly contemporary with the ewer, as does the present lot. A similar ewer, bearing a Yongle seal mark but without cover, is illustrated by B. Gyllensvärd, Chinese Ceramics in the Carl Kempe Collection, 1964, no.663, p.198. Two further examples, without marks but with their original covers, are recorded. One is in the Percival David Foundation, exhibited in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1989, Imperial Taste, Catalogue, no.35, p.65 and also in their Anniversary Exhbition, 1992, Elegant Form and Harmonious Decoration, Four Dynasties of Jingdezhen Porcelain, Catalogue, no.22, p.35. The other was excavated at Zushan in 1983 and was exhibited in the Chang Foundation exhibition, Imperial Hongwu and Yongle Porcelain excavated at Jingdezhen, Taibei, 1996, Catalogue, no.99.
Other white-glazed anhua-decorated examples, without the Yongle mark and without a cover, can be found in the British Museum, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics, The World's Great Collections, vol.5, no.151, also illustrated by S. Jenyns, Ming Pottery and Porcelain, pl.26; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, originally in the Herzman Collection, illustrated by S. Valenstein, The Herzman Collection of Chinese Ceramics, no.58, p.64; in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, illustrated by N. Palmgren, Selected Chinese Antiquities from the Collection of Gustav Adolf, Crown Prince of Sweden, pl.96 together with details of the decoration, figs. 285-288. For blue and white ewers with Tibetan inscriptions around the body, see the example in the Idemitsu Museum of Arts illustrated in Imperial Porcelain, Recent Discoveries of Jingdezhen Ware, 1995, no.220, p.135; and the Xuande mark and period ewer in the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, illustrated Blue and White Ware of the Ming Dynasty, Catalogue, Book II, Part I, colour plates 11, 11a, 11b and 11c. Plain white-glazed ewers of this period can be found in the Shanghai Museum, illustrated in Shanghai Hakubutsukan, pl.116; and in the Percival David Foundation, Oriental Ceramics, The World's Great Collections, vol.6, no.79. Compare also the Xuande mark and period ewer with a blue glaze, illustrated in Imperial Porcelain, Recent Discoveries of Jingdezhen Ware, 1995, no.41, p.39; and the fifteenth century copper-red-glazed ewer and cover in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Sekai Toji Zenshu, Shogakukan Series, vol.14, colour plate 32.
A ewer similar to the present lot, but without the Yongle mark and without a cover, was sold in Hong Kong, 14 November 1983, lot 111; a white-glazed ewer bearing a Tibetan inscription was sold in New York, 19 November 1982, lot 252; another, from the Eumorfopoulos Collection, was sold in London 30 May 1940, lot 314; a ewer with cover, but without incised decoration, from the Collection of Mr. & Mrs. P. Culloh, was sold in these Rooms, 10 December 1979, lot 322; and two others, without covers and without incised decoration, were sold in Hong Kong, 20 November 1984, lot 345, and 20 November 1985, lot 45.
It is extremely rare to find ewers of this type with Yongle nianzhi marks and with original covers. Only two other examples are known to exist: one is in the Tsui Museum of Art, Hong Kong, illustrated in Splendour of Ancient Chinese Art, Selections from the Collections of T. T. Tsui Galleries of Chinese Art Worldwide, 1996, colour pl. 42; the other is in the Idemitsu Museum of Arts, recently acquired and as yet unpublished. This latter example has a leather case, possibly contemporary with the ewer, as does the present lot. A similar ewer, bearing a Yongle seal mark but without cover, is illustrated by B. Gyllensvärd, Chinese Ceramics in the Carl Kempe Collection, 1964, no.663, p.198. Two further examples, without marks but with their original covers, are recorded. One is in the Percival David Foundation, exhibited in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1989, Imperial Taste, Catalogue, no.35, p.65 and also in their Anniversary Exhbition, 1992, Elegant Form and Harmonious Decoration, Four Dynasties of Jingdezhen Porcelain, Catalogue, no.22, p.35. The other was excavated at Zushan in 1983 and was exhibited in the Chang Foundation exhibition, Imperial Hongwu and Yongle Porcelain excavated at Jingdezhen, Taibei, 1996, Catalogue, no.99.
Other white-glazed anhua-decorated examples, without the Yongle mark and without a cover, can be found in the British Museum, illustrated in Oriental Ceramics, The World's Great Collections, vol.5, no.151, also illustrated by S. Jenyns, Ming Pottery and Porcelain, pl.26; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, originally in the Herzman Collection, illustrated by S. Valenstein, The Herzman Collection of Chinese Ceramics, no.58, p.64; in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, Stockholm, illustrated by N. Palmgren, Selected Chinese Antiquities from the Collection of Gustav Adolf, Crown Prince of Sweden, pl.96 together with details of the decoration, figs. 285-288. For blue and white ewers with Tibetan inscriptions around the body, see the example in the Idemitsu Museum of Arts illustrated in Imperial Porcelain, Recent Discoveries of Jingdezhen Ware, 1995, no.220, p.135; and the Xuande mark and period ewer in the National Palace Museum, Taiwan, illustrated Blue and White Ware of the Ming Dynasty, Catalogue, Book II, Part I, colour plates 11, 11a, 11b and 11c. Plain white-glazed ewers of this period can be found in the Shanghai Museum, illustrated in Shanghai Hakubutsukan, pl.116; and in the Percival David Foundation, Oriental Ceramics, The World's Great Collections, vol.6, no.79. Compare also the Xuande mark and period ewer with a blue glaze, illustrated in Imperial Porcelain, Recent Discoveries of Jingdezhen Ware, 1995, no.41, p.39; and the fifteenth century copper-red-glazed ewer and cover in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Sekai Toji Zenshu, Shogakukan Series, vol.14, colour plate 32.
A ewer similar to the present lot, but without the Yongle mark and without a cover, was sold in Hong Kong, 14 November 1983, lot 111; a white-glazed ewer bearing a Tibetan inscription was sold in New York, 19 November 1982, lot 252; another, from the Eumorfopoulos Collection, was sold in London 30 May 1940, lot 314; a ewer with cover, but without incised decoration, from the Collection of Mr. & Mrs. P. Culloh, was sold in these Rooms, 10 December 1979, lot 322; and two others, without covers and without incised decoration, were sold in Hong Kong, 20 November 1984, lot 345, and 20 November 1985, lot 45.