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Phoenix head ewer

Photo: Paul Macapia

Phoenix head ewer

8th-9th century

The ewer's shape and molded designs were probably derived from Central Asian repoussé silverware, reflecting a taste for exotica among the Tang aristocratic society. The raised motifs feature an archer-on-horseback on one side and a phoenix on the other.




Earthenware with sancai (tricolor) glaze and molded decoration
12 5/8 x 4 in.
Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection
44.8
Photo: Paul Macapia
location
Now on view at the Asian Art Museum

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "Luminous: The Art of Asia", October 13, 2011 - January 8, 2012

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "Glaze, Pattern and Image: Decoration in Chinese Ceramics", September 7, 2002 - November 19, 2002

Portland, Oregon, Portland Art Museum, "Gift to a City: Masterworks from the Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection in the Seattle Art Museum", cat. # 28

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing.
Published References"Gift to a City: Masterworks from the Eugene Fuller Memory Collection in the Seattle Art Museum," Portland, OR: Portland Art Museum, 1965, no. 28 (listed as Ch25.31).

Foong, Ping, Xiaojin Wu, and Darielle Mason. "An Asian Art Museum Transformed." Orientations vol. 51, no. 3 (May/June 2020): p. 61, reproduced fig. 22 (installation view).

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