Celadon Wine Vessel with Lotus Decoration

Northern Qi dynasty (550-577)

The wine vessel has a slightly flared mouth, long neck, bulging body and high foot ring. There are six bands around the shoulders and neck and altogether 11 tiers of decoration on the whole vessel. The three tiers of decoration on the neck are those of celestials, rosette and animal-mask designs and coiled dragons separated by bands of bowstring design. The principal part of the decoration on the body is formed by six tiers of designs of inverted and non-inverted lotus petals. The base is also decorated with two tiers of lotus petals. A bluish green glaze covers the whole vessel. The inside of the deep foot ring is not glazed. The vessel is one of the four wine vessels with lotus decoration unearthed from the Feng tomb in Jingxian County, Hebei Province. The ornate decoration on this large and magnificently shaped vessel is created by combining the appliquéd, impressed, embossed, incised, molded and relief methods. The designs of lotus petals, rosettes and celestials reflect the influence of Buddhist art on the northern ceramics. Analysis of the paste and glaze of this representative piece of northern celadon shows that it is a characteristic and outstanding example of northern celadon ware.