Celadon Vase with Two Loop Handles and Carved Lotus, Song Dynasty

PP-0144

Description

A tall celadon vase with a rounded body set on a spreading foot and a long neck that flares to a wide, flat-edged rim. Two loop handles, each shaped like an elephant head with the trunk curling back to the neck, are set below a series of grooved bands at the top of the neck. The body is carved with lotus flowers among well-defined leaves and stems, and the spreading foot with a band of upright panels.

The glaze is a soft sea green with a fine crackle over the whole surface, pooling a little deeper in the carving. The foot ring is unglazed and has fired to a warm orange-brown, and the glazed base inside it shows a crackle of its own. See our notes on crackles and on Song dynasty ceramics.