Period:Yuan dynasty (1271–1368)
Date:mid-14th century
Culture:China
Medium:Porcelain painted with cobalt blue under a transparent glaze (Jingdezhen ware)
Dimensions:H. 17 1/2 in. (44.5 cm)
Classification:Ceramics
Credit Line:Rogers Fund, 1926
Accession Number:26.271.1a, b
The structured surface of this bottle ultimately derives from the Islamic cultures of West Asia. The designs painted on the surface of the bottle also illustrate the complicated ties between China and other regions in the fourteenth century: the patterns on the neck parallel the cloud-collar designs often found in textiles and clothing in China and the Islamic world; the scrolling peonies that decorate the center of the bottle derive from longstanding Chinese traditions; and the stylized lotus petals on the base allude to imagery found in Indo-Himalayan art.