Object: Tankard Chinese, Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1911), Yongzheng Period (1722 – 1735), c. 1730 porcelain with underglaze iron red (rouge-de-fer) and overglaze gold decoration Gift of Richard D. Pardue in honor of Amanda M. Hughes, 2014.39.3
For my clay piece, I selected a porcelain Tankard from the Qing Dynasty, which is currently apart of the Ackland’s Color Across Asia exhibit. This piece originally caught my eye because it seemed as though it did not fit amongst the rest. I was confused by this oversized drinking mug, which sat amongst smaller more delicate cups and glasses. It takes the same shape as a beer stein, commonplace in Germany’s Oktoberfest. Upon further research Tankards are shaped and used similarly to beer steins. The word Tankard dates back to the 13th century and meant any wooden vessel, the meaning was later altered to mean any drinking vessel. They can be made of silver, glass, wood, ceramic or leather. After consulting the Ackland’s Object Guide, I learned this object was intended for a western audience. The brilliant red hues used to decorate the enamel were intended to please a western market that had a taste for the Japanese Imari porcelains that were of similar color. The color palette of very pale blue and bright red was known as “Melk en Bloed” which is Dutch for “milk and blood”. This type of piece was very popular in the Netherlands and thus most pieces in the West were once part of a Dutch collection.
Prior to learning this information I performed a visual analysis of this object. I could immediately tell it was a type of glazed and fired clay. The mug is a pale shade of blue with a bright red “rouge-de-fer” underglaze depicting ornate flowers. There is an overglaze of gold decoration on top. The flowers are very detailed and look like they were done in watercolor, they have a certain translucent effect to them. The petals of the flowers are open and in full bloom. The flowers fill the surfaces of the mug. There was obviously a lot of attention paid to the flowers, as indicated by the scale and bright color. The mug has 2 slight ridges. The bottom rim of the mug is wider than the overall cylinder. The cylinder is nearly perfect in shape. It looks like it was made by hand and very delicately at that. There is an affixed handle, which has a crease running through the center of it. It looks, as though may be a crack due to age. There are small irregularities inside the mug, which may have resulted during the firing stage. They look like small air bubbles. There is a thin red line around the base with a triangular pattern that looks like mountains. The red and gold flowers are woven together with flowing branches and leaves that twist around. There are many smaller red blossoms surrounding the larger flowers. There is a border along the top comprised of small flowers in a diamond pattern. The vessel is smooth throughout. I thought at first it my have ceremonial purposes. The object has been very well preserved and stood the test of time.