Ladies playing football

When you think of football, you think more of Spain, Brazil or the Netherlands than of China. They are better at martial arts and table tennis there. However, the country has more to do with this sport than you might think: football was apparently invented there! An indication of this is this wine pot from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It shows women kicking a ball back and forth. It sounds unreal, but in the Ming Dynasty, 'kicking a ball' was a popular activity among elite men and women.

This game of football, called cuju, dates back much earlier. It is said to have originated during the Warring States Period (476 - 221 BC). Initially, cuju was played by military personnel as a form of training. Soon, the Chinese elite picked it up as a fun pastime. This form of football was often played in the imperial palace during festive events, such as the emperor's birthday. The game was also played in Japan, Vietnam, and Korea, and is said to have spread to the West.

Wine pot with figures, Jingdezhen, China, approx. 1400 – 1500, porcelain, h. 37,4 cm, on loan from Ottema-Kingma Stichting.

The pot depicts three other scenes with women dressed in elegant robes. These are probably ladies from the emperor's palace. All these activities together refer to the 'siyi', or the four arts: playing the qin, mastering the game weiqi, practicing calligraphy, and painting. These were typical activities for a well-bred man. The scenes depicted here are a female interpretation of these arts. In addition to the women playing football, we see a woman playing the pipa. This is one of the oldest Chinese string instruments, characterized by a pear-shaped sound box. In the next scene, we see women at a table with a brush, ink and paper on it. This refers to calligraphy and painting.

In the last scene, two women are sitting on a couch. One is playing the flute, while the other is handed a boy by her servant. This refers to the most important task of a woman: raising her son. In China, having a son is still of great importance for the continuation of the family line.

This pot was made during the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) in the imperial kilns of Jingdezhen. It was used in the palace, probably to store wine. The painted scenes can be seen as conveying an ‘imperial message’, namely that the country was well governed. With this, the emperor showed that the situation was so stable under his rule that people had enough time for peaceful and relaxing activities.

Ming dynasty

This pot was made during the heyday of the Ming dynasty, when art and culture flourished in China. This dynasty is still seen as the pinnacle of Chinese history and symbolizes the ‘real China’. Ming porcelain is known for its technical and aesthetic perfection and refinement, both in China and in the Western world. Many collectors of Chinese porcelain would love to own such a Ming vase. The Chinese potters from the porcelain city of Jingdezhen are all too aware of this. There is a lucrative market there for imitating porcelain from the Ming period. For example, some painters specialize in decorations from the period of a particular emperor and know how to execute the old style to perfection. These imitations can be so good that even an expert cannot always tell the difference.

Eline van den Berg, curator Asian ceramics at Princessehof National Museum of Ceramics.