Bottle with Peony Scroll
青花缠枝牡丹纹梅瓶
A quintessential Yuan blue-and-white meiping, its shoulders wrapped in a dense peony scroll painted in cobalt imported from Persia via the Silk Road. Early blue-and-whites were made first for export to the Islamic world — only later did Chinese collectors embrace the palette.
Object Facts
- Period
- Yuan dynasty (1271–1368)
- Date
- mid-14th century
- Medium
- Porcelain painted with cobalt blue under a transparent glaze (Jingdezhen ware)
- Dimensions
- H. 44.5 cm
- Held by
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
New York, USA - Accession
- 26.271.1a, b
Rogers Fund, 1926
Why it matters
Yuan blue-and-white is the pivot point of world ceramic history: the moment Jingdezhen invented the aesthetic that would dominate European and Middle Eastern tables for the next 600 years.
How it travelled
Acquired by the Met via the Rogers Fund in 1926. Yuan blue-and-whites surfaced in the West chiefly through Ottoman and Persian palace dispersals in the 19th–20th centuries, supplemented by tomb finds in North China.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I see Bottle with Peony Scroll?+
Bottle with Peony Scroll is held by the The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, USA. Accession number 26.271.1a, b. Online catalogue record: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/49216.
When was Bottle with Peony Scroll created?+
Bottle with Peony Scroll dates to mid-14th century, during the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368).
What is Bottle with Peony Scroll made of?+
Bottle with Peony Scroll is a meiping bottle executed in porcelain painted with cobalt blue under a transparent glaze (jingdezhen ware), measuring H. 44.5 cm.
How did Bottle with Peony Scroll end up at the The Met?+
Acquired by the Met via the Rogers Fund in 1926. Yuan blue-and-whites surfaced in the West chiefly through Ottoman and Persian palace dispersals in the 19th–20th centuries, supplemented by tomb finds in North China.
Can I reuse the photograph of Bottle with Peony Scroll?+
Yes. The The Met has released the image under Creative Commons Zero (CC0), so it is free for any use, commercial or non-commercial, with no attribution required (though attribution is appreciated).
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