Monk’s cap ewer with ‘sweet white’ glaze Ming dynasty, Yongle period, AD1403–1424. Porcelain with incised decoration and transparent glaze. Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province; Height: 20.1 cm; Width: 19.9 cm; Depth: 13.7 cm. On loan from Sir Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art. PDF A426 © Trustees of the British Museum

The ewer has a white body and transparent grey-toned glaze. There are lotus scrolls incised on the exterior, Eight Buddhist Emblems around the body, and Ruyi motif on the handle. The base is unglazed.

Patronage of the Yongle emperor stimulated the creation of some of the finest white porcelains ever made with a unique lustrous quality. This ewer is incised and covered with a 甜白(tianbai ‘sweet-white’) glaze. Potters were able to fire tianbai porcelains at a higher temperature as they have a higher proportion of kaolin in the clay than earlier white wares and a reduced amount of limestone in the glaze. Ewers of this shape are known as a 僧帽壺 (sengmao hu ‘monk’s cap ewer’) (case 61). The Yongle emperor ordered the ewers for Buddhist ceremonies to mourn his parents. The ewer has a Tibetan prayer incised around the middle.

Bibliographic reference: Medley, Margaret, Volume 7: Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, 7 of 12, Tokyo, Kodansha ltd, 1975

Scott, Rosemary, Imperial Taste - Chinese Ceramics from the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art, 1989