Meiping

A meiping (Chinese: 梅瓶; pinyin: méipíng; lit. 'plum vase') is a type of vase in Chinese ceramics.[1] 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]

* Cizhou ware, 13th century, Song dynasty

* Lidded vase with lotus sprays, Qingbai ware, Southern Song period

* Yaozhou ware, celadon, Song dynasty

* Vase with horizontal ribs, Southern Song period

* Vase with copper-red underglaze, Ming dynasty

* 18th-century vase

* Porcelain, Jingdezhen ware, painted with cobalt blue under transparent glaze, 15th century

* Meiping vase, Chinese, Ming dynasty, 16th century CE. Arabic inscription. Porcelain with underglaze blue and small touches of overglaze enamel. Burrell Collection, Glasgow, UK

## References

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1. ^ a b Welch, Patricia Bjaaland (2008). Chinese art: a guide to motifs and visual imagery. North Clarendon: Tuttle Publishing. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-8048-3864-1.
2. ^ a b "Prunus Vase (meiping)". Saint Louis Art Museum. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
3. ^ "Fire Gilded Silver #Item3755". TK Asian Antiquities. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
4. ^ a b "Meiping". Musée Guimet. Archived from the original on 30 September 2011. Retrieved 18 August 2011.
5. ^ "meiping". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
6. ^ Osborne, Harold (ed), The Oxford Companion to the Decorative Arts, p. 189, 1975, OUP, ISBN 0198661134

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Meiping.

* A Handbook of Chinese Ceramics from The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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Chinese ceramics

Ancient pottery|

* Proto-celadon
* Terracotta Army
* Green-glazed pottery

Earthenwares, stonewares and others|

* Yue
* Celadon
* Yaozhou
* Longquan celadon
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Porcelain|

* Xing
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* Dehua
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* export
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Decoration|

* Sancai
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Kilns, shapes|

* Dragon kiln
* Mantou kiln
* The Five Great Kilns
* Cong
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* Gaiwan

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