15a. Fan mukozuke with Su Wu design
Jingdezhen, China
Ming Dynasty, Tianqi Period (1620-1627)
Thickly moulded in the form of a half-opened fan, and decorated to the interior with a scene of Su Wu carrying his crooked staff beside two sheep in a rugged landscape above the fan spines to the interior, the exterior with details of the spines in relief. 4.7cm high, 21.6cm long. Cat. 745a
For set of five fans of similar shape but different design, see Kosometsuke: Monochrome Section, Masahiko Kawahara, Kyoto Shoin Co., Ltd., 1977, p. 199 / pl. 751.
Note: Su Wu (c. 140-60BC) was an envoy of the Western Han Dynasty sent to the Xiongnu Empire, a confederacy of nomadic tribes to the north of the Han in the Eurasian Steppe. Upon arriving, he was asked to defect, and when he refused, he was punished by being detained for nineteen years in servitude, forced to herd sheep. His story represents loyalty, integrity and endurance in the face of obstacles. He is usually depicted with sheep at his side, and holding a staff with hanging objects most famously including a bundled cloth containing the Imperial edict he had been given to take to Xiongnu.
Condition report (carefully viewed under UV, strong light and magnification): natural fritting around the rim, to the lower edges underneath, and to the feet (kiln/firing flaw). Two extremely small glaze-flakes to the rim directly to the right of the painting of Su Wu, associated with the fritting at the location, unlikely due to impact. Glaze crawling to the underside.
Jingdezhen, China
Ming Dynasty, Tianqi Period (1620-1627)
Thickly moulded in the form of a half-opened fan, and decorated to the interior with a scene of Su Wu carrying his crooked staff beside two sheep in a rugged landscape above the fan spines to the interior, the exterior with details of the spines in relief. 4.7cm high, 21.6cm long. Cat. 745a
For set of five fans of similar shape but different design, see Kosometsuke: Monochrome Section, Masahiko Kawahara, Kyoto Shoin Co., Ltd., 1977, p. 199 / pl. 751.
Note: Su Wu (c. 140-60BC) was an envoy of the Western Han Dynasty sent to the Xiongnu Empire, a confederacy of nomadic tribes to the north of the Han in the Eurasian Steppe. Upon arriving, he was asked to defect, and when he refused, he was punished by being detained for nineteen years in servitude, forced to herd sheep. His story represents loyalty, integrity and endurance in the face of obstacles. He is usually depicted with sheep at his side, and holding a staff with hanging objects most famously including a bundled cloth containing the Imperial edict he had been given to take to Xiongnu.
Condition report (carefully viewed under UV, strong light and magnification): natural fritting around the rim, to the lower edges underneath, and to the feet (kiln/firing flaw). Two extremely small glaze-flakes to the rim directly to the right of the painting of Su Wu, associated with the fritting at the location, unlikely due to impact. Glaze crawling to the underside.
Jingdezhen, China
Ming Dynasty, Tianqi Period (1620-1627)
Thickly moulded in the form of a half-opened fan, and decorated to the interior with a scene of Su Wu carrying his crooked staff beside two sheep in a rugged landscape above the fan spines to the interior, the exterior with details of the spines in relief. 4.7cm high, 21.6cm long. Cat. 745a
For set of five fans of similar shape but different design, see Kosometsuke: Monochrome Section, Masahiko Kawahara, Kyoto Shoin Co., Ltd., 1977, p. 199 / pl. 751.
Note: Su Wu (c. 140-60BC) was an envoy of the Western Han Dynasty sent to the Xiongnu Empire, a confederacy of nomadic tribes to the north of the Han in the Eurasian Steppe. Upon arriving, he was asked to defect, and when he refused, he was punished by being detained for nineteen years in servitude, forced to herd sheep. His story represents loyalty, integrity and endurance in the face of obstacles. He is usually depicted with sheep at his side, and holding a staff with hanging objects most famously including a bundled cloth containing the Imperial edict he had been given to take to Xiongnu.
Condition report (carefully viewed under UV, strong light and magnification): natural fritting around the rim, to the lower edges underneath, and to the feet (kiln/firing flaw). Two extremely small glaze-flakes to the rim directly to the right of the painting of Su Wu, associated with the fritting at the location, unlikely due to impact. Glaze crawling to the underside.