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Title

Ewer with chicken head and dragon handle

0618-0907

Artists

Unknown Artist

Alternate image of Ewer with chicken head and dragon handle by
Alternate image of Ewer with chicken head and dragon handle by
Alternate image of Ewer with chicken head and dragon handle by
Alternate image of Ewer with chicken head and dragon handle by

  • Details

    Other Title
    Mingqi ewer
    Place where the work was made
    China
    Period
    Tang dynasty 618 - 907 → China
    Date
    0618-0907
    Media category
    Ceramic
    Materials used
    stoneware with clear glaze
    Dimensions
    6.1 cm diam. of mouth; 23.2 x 11.8 cm
    Credit
    Gift of Mr Sydney Cooper 1962
    Location
    Not on display
    Accession number
    EC62.1962
    Copyright

    Reproduction requests

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  • About

    This elegant ewer has a long neck and a broad shoulder decorated with a rooster stretching its neck and four looped hoops. Opposite the rooster is a long handle in the shape of a thirsty dragon whose mouth is biting deeply into the rim of the ewer. Here the rooster ('ji' in Chinese) is a pun of the word for luck. It can also represent the phoenix. Together, the dragon and the rooster symbolise male and female -'yin' and 'yang' - the two forces on which the cosmos operates.

  • Places

    Where the work was made

    China

  • Exhibition history

    Shown in 7 exhibitions

  • Bibliography

    Referenced in 2 publications

    • Mr V V W Fretwell, Mr L G Harrison, Ivan McMeekin and J. Hepburn Myrtle (Compilators), Chinese ceramics, Sydney, 1965, 18. cat.no. 19

    • Jackie Menzies, Early Chinese Art, Sydney, 1983, (illus.) not paginated. cat.no. XXVIII. See 'Further Information' for text.

  • Provenance

    Sydney Cooper, 1941-26 Jan 1962, Sydney/New South Wales/Australia, on display in the exhibition, ‘An Englishman's Home’ at David Jones Ltd. in 1941. Donated to the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Jan 1962.