Chinese ewer with South Asian metalwork shape. Porcelain ewer painted in underglaze blue, Jingdezhen, China, Qing dynasty, Kangxi reign, ca. 1680-1710. Diameter: 17.8 cm, Height: 28.0 cm. 1581-1876. © V&A Images.

This ewer (aftaba) was acquired for the Museum in Iran. The shape imitates a South Asian metalware ewer which is usually accompanied by a basin. It was made at the Jingdezhen kilns in south-wast China for export to India or the Middle East, where these ewers and basin sets were used for handwashing. The Hindus were expected to wash their hands before and after meals, while the Koran commands the faithful to wash their hands before prayer.

In the 17th century, the ruling courts of India were immensely wealthy. They had collected Chinese blue-and-white porcelain since the Yuan dynasty. While the ewer may have been made for the South Asia market, that it was found in Iran suggests that it may have been purchased by South Asian merchants who were based in Isfahan in the Safavid dynasty.

The Chinese blue-painted decoration is typical of the export style found at the end of the seventeeth century indiscriminately applied to wares for the Middle East and Europe.

Bibliographic References: Kerr, Rose and Luisa E. Mengoni Chinese Export Ceramics London: V&A Publishing, 2011, p.108, pl.154