Meiping Explained

A meiping is a type of vase in Chinese ceramics. It is traditionally used to display branches of plum blossoms.[1] [2] The meiping was first made of stoneware during the Tang dynasty (618–907).[3] It was originally used as a wine vessel, but since the Song dynasty (960–1279) it also became popular as a plum vase and got its name "meiping".[4] 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.[2] [4] [5]

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.[6]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Welch, Patricia Bjaaland. Chinese art: a guide to motifs and visual imagery. 2008. Tuttle Publishing. North Clarendon. 978-0-8048-3864-1. 17. registration.
  2. Web site: Prunus Vase (meiping). Saint Louis Art Museum. 17 August 2011.
  3. Web site: Fire Gilded Silver #Item3755. TK Asian Antiquities. 22 August 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20120331012701/http://www.tkasian.com/pages/metals/silver/3755/3755intro.html. 31 March 2012. dead.
  4. Web site: Meiping . Musée Guimet . 18 August 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110930122645/http://www.guimet.fr/spip.php?page=mot&id_mot=283&id_article=9 . 30 September 2011 . dead .
  5. Web site: meiping. Encyclopædia Britannica. 17 August 2011.
  6. Osborne, Harold (ed), The Oxford Companion to the Decorative Arts, p. 189, 1975, OUP,