Blue and White Rouleau Vase

Unidentified Artist, Chinese
Quing dynasty, Kangxi reign, 1661-1772|
Blue and white Rouleau Vase, c. 17th-18th century
porcelain with cobalt blue underglaze decoration
29 3/4 in. (75.57 cm)
Ackland Art Museum, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Gift of Beatrice Cummings Mayer, Class of 1943

Crafted around the turn of the eighteenth century using the signature blue underglaze on white porcelain, Vase is a product of the population and trade boom following the expansion of China’s territory during the Qing dynasty. The practice of invention and advancement in the forms, materials, decorations and functions of Chinese ceramics illustrates the importance of nature to man and the interactions between them. Painted around the vase’s cylinder, the landscape invites the viewers to travel horizontally by walking around it, passing mountains, cliffs, and flowing streams to share the journeys of boatmen, horsemen, wanderers, as well as farmhands cultivating nature’s resources.

~Felicia Chang

An extended look at Blue and White Rouleau Vase by Felicia Chang

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