A Blue Porcelain Ewer Made for the Islamic Market 清外销瓷蓝釉执壶

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China, 18th century
30cm high 
外销伊斯兰市场
中国，清朝，18世纪
高30厘米
Stock no.: A4258

The porcelain blue ewer of compacted pear-shaped form and flared foot. The mouth is crescent-moon shaped; the spout is curved. The ewer is decorated with traces of floral gilt decoration. Two similar ewers are in The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Accession Numbers 775-1888 and 1674-1876, and are published by Kerr and Mengoni, Chinese Export Ceramics, V&A Publishing, London, 2011, p. 111, pl. 158. According to Kerr, the shape of this ewer stems from Middle Eastern metalwork in combination with their crescent-shaped mouth and dark blue glazes (Kerr, p. 110). A late 17th century bluish-white ewer made in Iran with a curved spout and crescent-moon mouth is in The British Museum, London, Accession Number OA739, and shows the same Middle Eastern form as these Chinese export ewers.