Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami

Dish

Artist/Maker Artist Unknown (Artist Unknown)

Datemid 19th century

Mediumporcelain and underglaze cobalt blue

DimensionsOverall: 3/4 x 5 1/8 in. (1.9 x 13 cm)

ClassificationsContainers

Credit LineMuseum purchase

Terms

Object number90.0004

DescriptionViet Nam has a long history of producing high-quality ceramics that were exported widely to Southeast Asia and beyond. But from the mid-18th to the end of the 19th century, the Vietnamese royal courts in Hue and Hanoi placed orders for high quality porcelain decorated with underglaze cobalt blue. This ware has come to be called “Bleu de Hue” and is distinguished from the ceramic output for both the domestic and foreign market by the thickness of the potting as well as a distinctly heavy, flattened foot ring. The Vietnamese rulers felt that imported goods, including ceramics, better demonstrated the noblility of the royal court than domestic wares. It was, therefore, not unusual for the court to place special orders for Chinese ceramics, which were regarded as technically more advanced than those manufactured locally. In the early 19th century, after the Nguyen unifed Viet Nam, a royal decree was made ordering that all royal utensils for use at the court, including those originally in Hanoi, be brought to the Imperial capital at Hue. This piece, executed in the style of a traditional Chinese painting, includes a ten-character poem and two seals. The first appears to be the character zhong (center or middle) in a round cartouche and the second xi (evening) in a square cartouche. The poem translates: “The withered branches are reflective of the bitterness of winter; Mr. Nian fears the emptiness of the store.” The two-character inscription on the foot is the Vietnamese nom equivalent of tran ngoan, precious curio or trinket. A precise date for this piece is difficult, but, based on stylistic evidence, it would appear to have been manufactured in the mid-19th century.

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