China Unknown
Unknown: Vase

stoneware
14 x 6.25 x 6.2 in.
2013.80
Estate of Richard N. Tetlie '43 in honor of Evelyn Ytterboe Tetlie and Joseph Tetlie

This pale-blue crackled flower vase was considered a rarity among Song era (12th-13th c) guan stonewares. Guan wares could be found regularly in a scholar's study room, and often consisted of straightforward designs representing brush washers and flower vases. This affinity towards the unadorned, simple shapes and decoration reflected the ethics of Song literati and evoked a sense of antiquity that carried on through generations of scholars. The term guan (“official”) came into use after north China was seized by neighboring tribes, leading the Song emperor to establish his new capital and court in Hangzhou in East China. At this new court, imperial kilns were used to fire unique vessels. This vessel represents one of the five “official court wares” that was so greatly admired during the Qing court of the eighteenth century.

Euna Yang
Carleton College
A Scholar’s Studio Exhibition
October 28 – December 18, 2016
Groot Gallery, Flaten Art Museum
Professor Kathleen Ryor
The students involved in curating this show come from two classes – Carleton Professor Kathleen Ryor’s Arts of China and St. Olaf Professor Karil Kucera’s Visual Culture in Modern China