Baluster Jar and Cover (1600–1650): Art, History and Details

Baluster Jar and Cover (1600–1650) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

The central motif on this jar is a mountain emerging from the sea, symbolizing Mount Sumeru in Buddhist cosmology, and representing the central axis in the universe in Daoism. White cherry blossoms floating on the wavy ground are surrounded by auspicious symbols such as the coin for wealth and the lozenge for victory. The yellow knob on the jar’s cover depicts a cherry blossom. Other fortuitous motifs—such as the leaf of protection, the pearl to grant wishes, the stone chime for celebration, rocks symbolizing longevity—also decorate the lid. While most jars have lost their covers over time, this jar retains its original lid.

Object facts

• Title: Baluster Jar and Cover
• Date: 1600–1650
• Culture: China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen kilns, Ming dynasty (1368–1644) or Qing dynasty (1644–1911)
• Type: Ceramic
• Technique: Porcelain with wucai (five-color) enamels
• Dimensions: Overall: 36.8 x 23.8 cm (14 1/2 x 9 3/8 in.)
• Collection: China - Ming Dynasty
• Department: Chinese Art
• Accession number: 2020.179

A detail from the museum

The waves are depicted in a rich aubergine, or purple, glaze.

Collection credit

Nancy F. and Joseph P. Keithley Collection Gift

Further reading listed by the museum

• S. Marchant & Son. Exhibition of Two Hundred Years of Chinese Porcelain 1522-1722 to Be Held from Sunday 7th June Until Friday 19th June 1998. London: S. Marchant & Son, 1998.
• Von Spee, Clarissa. "Chinese Ceramics and Works on Paper." In The Keithley Collection at the Cleveland Museum of Art, edited by Heather Lemonedes Brown, 194–229. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2022.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.