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Baluster vase and cover: C.680.4 & A-1991

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Object information

Current Location: In storage

Titles

Baluster vase and cover

Maker(s)

Unknown

Entities

Categories

Description

Baluster vase and cover. Hard-paste porcelain, decorated predominantly in mottled underglaze blue and in famille verte enamels and gilding. The vase has a short, cylindrical neck and slender sides tapering to the foot with a flat, recessed base. The mottled, bright blue ground is decorated with four lobed, quatrefoil vertical panels: the first enclosing a rocky landscape with trees, sun and flying birds; the second with branches of flowering peony; the third with a vase and a piece of coral surrounded by brush pots and scrolls; and the fourth with flowering sprays of chrysanthemum entwined with bamboo growing from rock work.
The domed cover has two quatrefoil vignettes enclosing flower sprays, a conical gilded knop, and gilded flower heads on the blue ground.

Notes

History note: H.S. 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

Height: 26.7 cm
Width: 11.6 cm

Acquisition and important dates

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

Dating

Qing Dynasty
Kangxi Period (1662-1722)
17th Century-18th Century
Circa 1662 - 1722

Components of the work

Decoration composed of enamels ( famille verte) gilt

Materials used in production

Hard-paste porcelain

Techniques used in production

Throwing : Hard-paste porcelain decorated predominantly in mottled underglaze blue and in famille verte enamels and gilding

Inscription or legends present

Inscription present: round, white, serrated, stuck on top of rectangular, serrated label with patterned blue borders

  • Text: 253a
  • Method of creation: Inscribed
  • Type: Label

Identification numbers

Accession number: C.680.4 & A-1991
Primary reference Number: 21435
Old object number: CHICER/205(5)
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Monday 22 April 2024 Last processed: Wednesday 14 May 2025

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) "Baluster vase and cover" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/21435 Accessed: 2025-12-05 06:46:36

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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/21435 |title=Baluster vase and cover |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-05 06:46:36|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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