Jar
Unknown Artist
13th–14th century
Medium
Stoneware with light blue glaze (Jun ware)
Dimensions
H. 5 5/8 in. (14.3 cm); Diam. 7 in. (17.8 cm)
Classification
Ceramics
Culture & Period
China · Yuan dynasty (1271–1368)
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929
Accession Number
29.100.211
Art Historical Context
This elegant jar, crafted in China's Yuan dynasty (1271–8), exemplifies the revered Jun ware tradition. Made of stoneware and coated in a signature light blue glaze, it just 5⅝ inches tall with a 7-inch diameter, perfect for holding oils, spices, or small treasures in a scholarly household. Produced in northern China's Jun kilns around the 13th–14th, such vessels were prized for their subtle beauty rather than bold decoration. Jun ware's artistic magic lies in its glazing technique: potters layered iron-rich glazes over high-fired stoneware, firing them multiple times in wood-fueled kilns. Th...