On view
Bottle vase with eagles and cranes,
19th century
Information
19th century
Asia, China
This "garlic"-headed vase with a spherical body, base ring of wide diameter, and long cylindrical neck with a bulging top, was probably made as a birthday gift for an elderly gentleman. White porcelain with transparent glaze, and green, yellow, red, lavender, and black overglaze enamels.
Overglaze decoration: painted enamels on one side of the body is a pair of cranes signifying virtue and purity; a lone eagle perched on a rock overlooks waves on the other side; on the shoulder is a broad band of stylized flowers followed by a narrow band of green; on the neck are designs of dragons and clouds; at the top are four bands of stylized flowers, lotus scrolls, and geometric designs.
Underglaze decoration: an incised floral pattern on the body; incised band of meander about mid-neck between upright and pendant leaves.
- "Recent acquisitions," Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 12, no. 1 (1953): p. 38-39., p. 39
- Cary Y. Liu, "Asian Art Collection: From Exotica to Art and History," in "An Art Museum for Princeton: The Early Years", special issue, Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 55, no. 1/2 (1996): 125–134., p. 125, fig. 1
