Blue Hawthorne Ginger Jar

ClassificationsDECORATIVE ARTS

Date1662-1721

Mediumporcelain

Dimensions10 1/8 x 8 5/8 in. (25.7 x 21.9 cm.)

DescriptionAn ovid shaped Blue Hawthorne, or "famille noire," ginger jar made clear white hard paste porcelain with symbolical decoration in brilliant cobalt blue, presenting branches of the wild prunus tree against a ground of reticulated blue. Blossoms spread downward from rim of neck and upward from base. The rim of the neck is finished by a narrow dentated border. It is on a teakwood stand. "Famille noire" typically has a black ground of a brownish-black pigment made from cobalt and manganese overlaid by a greenish enamel, was produced in the 18th century but large vases do not seem to have been decorated in this manner before the mid 19th century.

Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens

Status

On view

Object number13.23

Terms