Arrow vase

This beautifully decorated porcelain vase dates from the second half of the sixteenth century. It is a so-called arrow vase, made during the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644). It has a pear shape with six tubular additions at the top and another six upright blocks on the belly and shoulder. These arrow vases were originally made of bronze, for playing the traditional Chinese game touhu. In this ancient game, played by the elite from dynasties more than 2000 years ago, people tried to throw arrows into the vase by hand. It was not so much about the relatively simple act itself, but about the complicated etiquette that went with it.

At court and among the elite, any recreational activity involved complex rituals. Touhu could be played both indoors and outdoors. In later dynasties, it developed into a drinking game for entertaining guests. The loser, the one who threw the arrow next to the vase, had to drink wine as punishment. What this game looked like can be seen in a painting from the Ming period, depicting Emperor Xuande (1425 - 1435) playing this game with his visitors in the palace garden.

Arrow vase with pseudo-Arabic script, China, approx. 1550 – 1600, porcelain, h. 25 cm, on loan from Ottema-Kingma Stichting.

The technique of decoration on this vase is known in China as doucai, which can be translated as ‘complementing colours’. This technique was developed during the reign of Emperor Xuande (1426 - 1435), but reached its peak under Emperor Chenghua (1465 - 1487).

For the doucai technique, the blue underglaze was combined with enamel colours. For this, the decoration was first drawn in blue on the unbaked clay. Then a layer of glaze was applied over the object. It was then baked in the ovens at a high temperature, around 1300 degrees Celsius. After cooling, the other colours were applied over the glaze. In the case of this vase, the cloud pattern was coloured in with green and yellow. After this last painting, the object was baked again, but now at a much lower temperature, to allow the colours to adhere. A laborious process!

If you were able to hold the vase, you could feel the difference in the colours applied under and above the glaze. Where only blue is present, it is smooth, where the other colours are present, you can clearly feel the structure of the enamel. Imperial Ming porcelain, decorated in doucai, is the epitome of ultimate elegance and was therefore highly sought after by collectors, both in China and later in the West.

Background

On the belly of the vase are six medallions with inscriptions in Arabic script. At least, that's how it seems. In fact, it is pseudo-Arabic. In the late Ming era, the Chinese elite was fascinated by 'exotic', imported novelties, whether they came from the West or had an Islamic or Tibetan background. Especially unknown script gave an object allure and showed how educated the owner was. In fact, this fascination for other cultures has always been present, not only in China, but also here in the West. You see that, for example, in the form of tattoos. How often do you see someone walking around with a Chinese character on their arm these days? Even now, the wearer does not always know exactly what these characters mean, so a mistake is easily made. Painful, especially if the person only finds out when it is already too late.

Eva Ströber, former curator of Asian ceramics, and Eline van den Berg, curator Asian ceramics at Princessehof National Museum of Ceramics, with thanks to Aafke Koole.