A rare iron-brown-decorated Qingbai 'floral' vase, Yuan dynasty | 元 青白釉鐵鏽花紋帶座瓶

Although it is not uncommon to find qingbai vases modeled with an integral stand, the form of this particular piece is very rare. The present iron-painted 'stand' appears to simulate wood, illustrating how such vases may have been displayed. It is also unusual to find iron-brown painting, rather than splashes, on qingbai ceramics. For a similarly decorated vase without the molded stand, see one included in C.T. Loo and Co., Exhibition of Chinese Arts, New York, 1941, cat. no. 560. Compare also an iron-painted qingbai fragment discovered at the Anxi kilns in Fujian, exhibited in Kiln Sites of Ancient China: Recent Finds of Pottery and Porcelain, Oriental Ceramic Society, London, 1980, cat. no. 119.