Slops jar (zhadou)

Object Details

• Description

  Blue-and-white.

  Clay: fine white porcelain.

  Glaze: plain, transparent.

  Decoration: in underglaze cobalt blue, flower and fruit branches, freely painted.

• Label

  Jars of this shape, known in Chinese as zhadou, are called "slops jars" and they were primarily used to hold table refuse--food scraps and dregs of tea and wine. Another name for the shape that was commonly used especially in early twentieth-century writings about Chinese porcelain is "leys jar"; sometimes the term "spittoon" is also used.

  Both the inside and outside of the jar are adorned with naturalistic sprays of fruiting and flowering branches. While reign marks were commonly written on imperial porcelains from the Xuande period (1426-1435) onward, that was not always the case. This object does not have a reign mark and scholars differ in their opinion as to its date. Perhaps it was made during the Chenghua reign (1465--87), but it might date as late as the Zhengde reign (1506-21).

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Luxury and Luminosity: Visual Culture and the Ming Court (July 3, 2004 to June 26, 2005)

  Chinese Ceramics (May 9, 1993 to April 17, 1995)

  Chinese Ceramics (March 15, 1982 to July 10, 1986)

  Chinese Art (March 9, 1981 to March 12, 1982)

  Chinese Ceramics (May 9, 1980 to March 6, 1981)

  Chinese Ceramics (April 11, 1978 to September 4, 1980)

  Chinese Art (January 1, 1963 to March 6, 1981)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Ceramics (March 7, 1957 to January 1, 1963)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Ceramics, 1955 (September 19, 1955 to November 10, 1955)

  Centennial Exhibition, Gallery 13 (November 10, 1955 to March 1, 1957)

  Untitled Exhibition, Chinese Art, 1953 (May 26, 1953 to September 15, 1953)

  Stone Sculpture, Buddhist Bronze, and Chinese Painting (May 2, 1923 to February 25, 1956)

• Origin

  Jingdezhen, Jiangxi province, China

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Vessel

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1520s, 1400s

• Place

  China, Jiangxi province, Jingdezhen

• Topic

  Porcelain, Art, Fruit, Chinese Art, Ceramics, Flowers, Jingdezhen ware, Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644)

• Culture

  Chinese

• Object Type

  Vessels (containers)