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Ewer and Cover
Title:Ewer and Cover
Artist:Artist Unknown
Date:Southern Sung dynasty
Creation Place:Asia, China
Credit Line:Gift of the Asian Art Council
Accession Number:2000.83.2a,b
This small, hemispherical-shaped ewer would have likely been used for tea. Its lid is mold-made with a chrysanthemum motif. The vessel body is segmented and decorated with a floral scroll executed in thread-like relief decoration. This type of decoration first appeared in Southern Sung (1127-1279) Ch'ing pai and continued into the Yuan dynasty (1280-1368). Small and delicate, this type of porcelain tableware was appreciated by China's middle and upper classes throughout the Sung and Yuan dynasties, and this form of vessel may have been equally appreciated abroad as well, perhaps in Southeast Asia or the Middle East.