A famille verte 'cong' vase

Kangxi period, 1662–1722
China

thermoluminescence test no. p106f45
confirms this dating

height: 22 cm

The ‘cong’ form dates back to the Neolithic period, 3600–2000 bc, and was produced throughout the Shang dynasty of the 2nd millennium bc. The vases were often made from jade and, evidently, served a ritual purpose from the beginning – although their exact function or significance is not entirely clear.

This square sectioned, archaic form vase stands on a circular foot, the shoulders gently rising to a waisted neck and open mouth. It is decorated on each corner with six short raised horizontal bands in aubergine that flank a vertical rectangle in yellow enamel to the middle of each face; the green background is painted with a repeating diaper pattern, in black, of ever decreasing squares. On the shoulders, four snake dragons, or ‘panku’ – with bright overglaze blue manes – alternate in brown and yellow enamels. The neck is decorated with acanthus leaves above a fish scale design – also in overglaze blue.

From the Song dynasty onwards, an interest in ancient Chinese forms and decoration constituted a serious area of interest for Emperors and the scholar class. Many archaic forms were imitated in porcelain, amongst which the gu, hu, and zun were popular – and found both with and without Imperial marks.