Small vase 1769 - 1805

This small vase was made in China, of porcelain, painted in cobalt blue under a transparent glaze. To make something like this, you’d start with refined clay, carefully shaped on a wheel. The form is deceptively simple. That gentle curve in the body, the long, slender neck: these require mastery to achieve. Once dry, the vase would be covered in a clear glaze, and then the cobalt decoration applied with a brush. Cobalt is one of the few pigments that can withstand the high temperatures of a porcelain kiln. This technique, known as blue-and-white ware, became a major export commodity. What I find so remarkable about this piece is the way it embodies a global trade network. The labor of the anonymous maker, the materials sourced from the earth, the complex processes of making, all combine to make an object that transcends the boundaries of art and craft.