Stool
Category
Ceramics
Date
1800 - 1900
Materials
Porcelain, cobalt
Measurements
600 mm (Height)
Place of origin
Jingdezhen
Order this imageCollection
Belton House, Lincolnshire
NT 433510.14
Summary
Garden seat, porcelain, of octagonal barrel shape, with simulated leather covers held down by nails at the top and the bottom and with pierced motif of linked coins on two sides, made in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province, China, 19th century, decorated in underglaze blue with landscapes on the sides and stylised lappets around the top and the bottom.
Full description
Drum-shaped seats are depicted in Chinese paintings and prints from the late Ming dynasty (16th to early 17th century) onwards. They came to be made in various different materials: rushes, bamboo, wood (including rootwood), stone, ceramics and even cloisonné-enamelled brass. Examples made in more delicate materials would be used inside, while seats in more robust or disposable materials were used on terraces and in gardens. These seats often feature trompe l’oeil elements referring to the construction of storage barrels, particularly the ‘covers’ held down with ‘nails’ at the top and the bottom. The pierced decoration of linked coins (lianqianwen 连钱纹, signifying wealth, see Bjaalland Welch 2008) may also playfully echo the construction of barrel seats made of bundled rushes, which featured interlocking circular elements for structural integrity.
Provenance
Purchased by the National Trust with support from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, 1984.
References
Berliner 1996: Nancy Berliner, Beyond the Screen: Chinese Furniture of the 16th and 17th Centuries, Boston (Mass.), 1996, cat. 4–6, pp. 96–101 Bjaaland Welch 2008: Patricia Bjaaland Welch, Chinese Art: A Guide to Motifs and Visual Imagery, Tokyo, Rutland (Vermont) and Singapore, 2008, p. 250