Celadon Ewer, Longquan Ware

From its straight mouth, this ewer flares out to a wide stomach, which gracefully terminates in a narrow, slightly upturned foot. The long curve of the spout on one side is off set by the flat handle on the other side. The round lid is flat on top. This beautiful-shaped ewer looks very harmonious with the well-proportioned spout and handle. It is thin on the upper part and full on the lower part with an even, softly lustrous, and elegant glaze. This ewer exemplifies the best of the Longquan wares.
This ewer with both spout and handle is one type of pouring vessel. The ewer appeared in the Tang dynasty (618-907) and was used to pour wine. In the Tang dynasty, ewers were perfectly round with short spouts and handles and later, in the Five dynasties (907-959 ) they were given longer spouts and handles. During the Song period (960-1278) the ewer became tall and slender with longer spout and handle; it was often used together with a warming bowl. During the Yuan dynasty, the stomach of the ewer became similar to that of a vase and the spout was much longer than before, connecting to the lower part of the pot. These three kinds of pouring vessels are often found among wares produced at Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province and at Longquan in Zhejiang province.
Celadon is a European name for a range of high-fired green glazes. The Longquan celadon glazes contain roughly one to three percent iron. The green tones result from the ferric oxide and small amounts of titanium dioxide in the glaze; when air to the kiln is restricted during the firing, the combustion products create “oxygen-hungry” gases that pull oxygen from the iron oxide reducing it from a higher (ferric) oxide state to a lower (ferrous) state. In this sort of reducing atmosphere, the iron turns shades of green, blue-green and grey. Celadon is the oldest color glaze in China and the skills in mixing and applying glazes continuously improved. The celadon tones vary depending on ingredients in the glaze, its application, firing fuel, temperature, and kiln atmosphere. Colors include the pale green of “mise” porcelain, the deeper plum green, and winter-melon green.
The ware takes its name from the location of the kilns in Longquan country, in southern Zhejiang province. Hundreds of kilns have been found. Generally speaking, Longquan began to make ceramics during the tenth century, and its period of florescence was during the Southern Song (1127-1278) and Yuan dynasty when the kilns increased in number and ceramic quality greatly improved. During the Yuan dynasty Longquan potters succeeded in making large-scale containers such as plates almost three feet in diameter and equally tall vases that kept their shapes during firing. From the middle of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), production at Longquan gradually began to decline. Because it produced ceramics for a long time, many works still survive. Some of them were exported to places such as Japan, Philippines, Malaysia, Pakistan, India, and Egypt.