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Tomb vessel: C.639B-1991

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An image of Vessel
An image of Vessel
An image of Vessel
Current Location: In storage

Titles

tomb vessel

Maker(s)

Unknown

Entities

Categories

Description

Tomb vessel. Porcelain, covered with clear glaze encrusted with red dirt, and decorated with incised lotus petals and applied figures. The vessel has a wide, cylindrical neck with horizontal rings on the inside made with a wheel. On the shoulders and the body are seven figures standing on an applied scroll band, incised with lotus petals. Five of the figures in robes hold (clockwise) animal heads: a goat, monkey, chicken, dog and pig. The other two figures, also in robes, perhaps represent the sun and moon. The body tapers into a slightly everted foot with a recessed, flat base.
Of a pair with C.639A-1991.

Notes

History note: Purchased from Sotheby's, 12 July 1934, for £6.5s.0d, Lot 15, Henry Scipio Reitlinger (d. 1950); the Reitlinger Trust, Maidenhead, from which transferred in 1991.

Legal notes

Bequeathed by H.S. Reitlinger, 1950; transferred from the Reitlinger Trust, 1991

Measurements and weight

Diameter: 17.7 cm
Height: 26.1 cm

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1950) by Reitlinger, Henry Scipio

Dating

Northern Song (960-1127)
Circa 960 - 1127

People, subjects and objects depicted

Components of the work

Decoration

Materials used in production

Glaze
Porcelain

Techniques used in production

Throwing : Porcelain, each covered with clear glaze encrusted with red dirt, decorated with incised and applied decoration
Glazing (coating)

Inscription or legends present

Inscription present: round, white label, with serrated edge

  • Text: 242
  • Type: Label

Related exhibitions

Identification numbers

Accession number: C.639B-1991
Primary reference Number: 21020
Old object number: CHICER/274 (2)

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Monday 22 April 2024

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "tomb vessel" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/21020 Accessed: 2025-12-05 06:46:56

Citation for Wikipedia

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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/21020 |title=tomb vessel |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-05 06:46:56|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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