Blue Bottle Vase (1736–95): Art, History and Details

Blue Bottle Vase (1736–95) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

In the Qing dynasty (1644–1911), luxury items became more affordable to larger parts of the society, including women, merchants, and literati in non-official positions. Imperial patronage and a growing urban population encouraged consumption of luxury goods and local craftmanship. This blue bottle vase exemplifies the technical perfection of Qing dynasty court artisans who surpassed their predecessors in technical skill.

Object facts

• Title: Blue Bottle Vase
• Date: 1736–95
• Culture: China, Qing dynasty (1644-1911), Qianlong mark and reign (1736-95)
• Type: Ceramic
• Technique: porcelain
• Dimensions: Overall: 55 cm (21 5/8 in.)
• Collection: China - Qing Dynasty
• Department: Chinese Art
• Accession number: 1940.694.2

A detail from the museum

The vase's lip top, inside, and bottom were glazed with bluish-white with tiny dark speckles.

Collection credit

Bequest of James Parmelee

Further reading listed by the museum

• Milliken, William M., et al. “The Bequest of James Parmelee.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 28, no. 2, 1941, pp. 15–31.

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.