bottle BM-Franks.1672

Period:Ming dynasty Production date:1522-1566
Materials:porcelain
Technique:glazed, underglazed,
Subjects:immortal landscape deity devotee/worshipper
Dimensions:Diameter: 31 centimetres (maximum) Height: 55 centimetres Weight: 10 kilograms

Description:
Large double gourd-shaped porcelain bottle with underglaze blue decoration. Heavily potted, this large gourd-shaped bottle has a tubular neck and a large lower and smaller upper bulb; it stands on a splayed foot. Its base is gritty, glazed and marked with a six-character underglaze blue Jiajing reign mark. Bright blue cobalt, characteristic of the second half of the Jiajing emperor’s reign, is used to depict figures in land- and seascapes. Painted around the lower bulb are popular deities and devotees processing with gifts for a bearded Daoist or popular god. He is shown seated on a rock throne beneath a spreading pine tree, accompanied by an auspicious crane. The scene may be an amalgamation of the Eight Daoist Immortals bearing tribute to Shoulao and that of other legends surrounding favoured gods. The main figure, possibly Shoulao, glances to his left to see the benevolent popular deity Liu Hai and his tame three-legged toad dancing wildly. Liu Hai is generally depicted as here as an untrammelled figure, carelessly wearing an open robe which exposes his pot belly. He often has a tonsured haircut and carries a gourd filled with a magic potion – here it is tied to his waist. Behind him comes a man carrying a giant peach. Such peaches were grown by Xi Wang Mu [Queen Mother of the West] in her enchanted gardens in the Kunlun mountains. As her orchards bore fruits only once in a millennium, eating such produce conferred immortality. Next is an official carrying a large ovoid vase from which gush three characters – possibly the name of a magic elixir. Behind him another man bears a giant peach. Then comes an immortal pursuing a small dog, possibly Erlang who rids the world of demons and rides a dog. He is grouped together with Han Xiangzi, one of the Eight Immortals, identified by his flute. The dog runs towards Zhang Guolao, another of the Eight Immortals, shown with his bamboo drum and two sticks. A dog running towards someone is an emblem of forthcoming riches. A third of the Eight Immortals, Cao Guojiu, wearing court dress and holding his castanets, is portrayed flanked between two immortals carrying more peaches. Next comes an immortal between a deer and a crane, holding a gourd. Lastly two figures hold a basket of peaches and a hand scroll with a yin-yang symbol respectively. The landscape is festooned with auspicious plants such a pine and lingzhi. In the upper bulb two figures are shown on land and three at sea. On land beneath a pine tree is a man with a long staff and another with a pen and scroll. At sea one immortal rides the waves on a leaf, another crosses the waves on a wart-backed toad and another appears to ride the waves unassisted. Around the neck and waist of the gourd is a band of lingzhi scroll with lappets at the shoulder. Feathery plantain leaves further decorate the waist and there is an unusual leaf pattern below. The foot is decorated with four cartouches containing flowering and fruiting plants surrounded by a diaper pattern with a coin, rhombus, coral and rhinoceros horn. Above this is a band of stylized leaves, outlined in blue.
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