A meiping () is a type of vase in

Chinese ceramics Chinese ceramics are one of the most significant forms of Chinese art and ceramics globally. They range from construction materials such as bricks and tiles, to hand-built pottery vessels fired in bonfires or kilns, to the sophisticated Chinese ...

. It is traditionally used to display branches of plum blossoms. The meiping was first made of stoneware during the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

(618–907). It was originally used as a wine vessel, but since the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

(960–1279) it also became popular as a plum vase and got its name "meiping". It is tall, with a narrow base spreading gracefully into a wide body, followed by a sharply-rounded shoulder, a short and narrow neck, and a small opening. They may have lids, and many lids have no doubt been lost. The equivalent shape in Korean ceramics, where it was derived from Chinese examples, is called a Maebyeong. A distinct variant is the "truncated meiping", where there is only the top half of the usual shape, giving a squat vase with a wide bottom. This is largely restricted to

Cizhou ware Cizhou ware or Tz'u-chou ware () is a wide range of Chinese ceramics from between the late Tang dynasty and the early Ming dynasty, but especially associated with the Northern Song to Yuan period in the 11–14th century. It has been increasingl ...

.Osborne, Harold (ed), ''The Oxford Companion to the Decorative Arts'', p. 189, 1975, OUP, File:Porcelain Vase.jpg,

, 13th century,

File:Lidded Prunus Vase (Meiping) with Lotus Sprays LACMA AC1999.38.6.1-.2.jpg, Lidded vase with lotus sprays, Qingbai ware, Southern Song period File:耀州窑青釉刻花牡丹纹梅瓶.JPG, Yaozhou ware,

celadon Celadon () is a term for pottery denoting both wares ceramic glaze, glazed in the jade green Shades of green#Celadon, celadon color, also known as greenware or "green ware" (the term specialists now tend to use), and a type of transparent glaze, ...

, Song dynasty File:Prunus Vase (Meiping) with Horizontal Ribs LACMA AC1994.191.1.jpg, Vase with horizontal ribs, Southern Song period File:Ming Dynasty-Octagonal Jar (Meiping) painted in copper-red underglaze.JPG, Vase with copper-red underglaze,

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

File:Vase_meiping_Musée_Guimet_2418.jpg, 18th-century vase File:MET DP251192.jpg, Porcelain,

Jingdezhen ware Jingdezhen porcelain () is Chinese ceramics, Chinese porcelain produced in or near Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province in southern China. Jingdezhen may have produced pottery as early as the sixth century CE, though it is named after the reign name o ...

, painted with cobalt blue under transparent glaze, 15th century File:Meiping vase, Chinese, Ming Dynasty, 16th century CE. Arabic inscription. Porcelain with underglaze blue and small touches of overglaze enamel. Burrell Collection, Glasgow, UK.jpg, Meiping vase, Chinese, Ming Dynasty, 16th century CE. Arabic inscription. Porcelain with underglaze blue and small touches of overglaze enamel. Burrell Collection, Glasgow, UK

References

External links

A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics
from The Metropolitan Museum of Art {{Chinese ceramics Pottery shapes Chinese porcelain Chinese pottery Vases