The 10th century Song dynasty people most likely used this for wine, the 19th century Victorian English used this for hot water for their tea.
National Treasure 国宝
Celadon Glazed Cadogan-Type Pot With Flower Carvings And Handle, Yaozhou Ware 耀州窑青瓷提梁倒灌壶
Celadon | Five Dynasties (907-979) | H: 18.3 cm, D(body): 14.3 cm, Depth is 12 cm, D (base): 8.7 cm. | Excavated in Bin County, Shaanxi Province (1968)｜ Shaanxi Provincial History Museum collection. 陶器｜五代（公元907年一公元979年）｜通高18.3厘米，腹径14.3厘米，腹深12厘米，足径8.7厘米｜1968年出土于陕西彬县｜陕西历史博物馆藏
‘Cadogan’ teapots appeared in England during the early nineteenth century after Chinese porcelain wine pots were imported and then copied locally.1 How they operated is that ewers had a hole in the base with an interior tube running from it to near the inside top, and so could be filled through the base and then turned the right way up without the contents spilling. They were named after Lord Cadogan (1728- 1807) who supposedly used them in his home.2
The magic of this celadon pot with a loop handle lies in the plum shaped hole at the bottom, where the water is injected into the kettle. Then the water is poured out from the spout normally. When it turned upside down, the pot doesn’t leak.
The water inlet is at the bottom. In use, the pot is inverted first to put water in, and then when it is placed at the normal position again, the water won’t leak out. The pot was designed ingeniously and delicately to be a rarity from the Yaozhou kiln.3
The lid of the pot is integrated with its body. With the phoenix-shaped handle, the lion-shaped mouth, and the carved peony belly, the pot integrated the kings of birds, beasts and flowers, hence its nickname “The Three Kings Pot” 三王壺.
Yaozhou ware 耀州窯 is a type of celadon or greenware in Chinese pottery, which was at its height during the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127). Yaozhou ware was considerably influenced by Yue ware 越窑, although the green colour was darker, and the designs usually carved, and later moulded, rather than incised as in Yue ware.
At the end of the Northern Song in 1125, the remainder of the Imperial court fled south, and the capital of the Southern Song was set up at Hangzhou. The nearby Longquan celadon kilns 龙泉窑 became the main producer of celadon and Yaozhou and the other Northern Celadons declined accordingly, in both quantity and quality, although celadons continued to be produced at Yaozhou until the Yuan dynasty.
I left thinking how do they clean the inside of the flask.
All photos taken Shaanxi Provincial History Museum Mar 2024, unless otherwise indicated.
#禁止出境展览文物 #ShaanxiProvincialHIstoryMuseum #陕西省历史博物馆
About Chinese National Treasure Series
中華國寶系列 Chinese National Treasure series feature specific artefacts and relics from museums all around the world that are historically significant to be considered a National Treasure. The series covers the 5,000 years of Chinese civilisation from Neolithic periods before the Xia dynasty (c. 2070-1600 BC) to modern day.
Footnotes :
- https://encyclopedia.design/2024/02/18/cadogan-teapot-functionality-and-artistic-beauty/ ↩︎
- An Oddity from China & Nepal: The ‘Cadogan’ Teapot, 9th January 2020. https://www.michaelbackmanltd.com/cadogan-teapots/ ↩︎
- 壶盖与器身连为一体，凤凰作提梁，狮子当流，腹部刻缠枝牡丹花，集鸟中之王、兽中之王、花中之王于一身。梅花形注水口设于壶底中央，壶内有漏柱与水相隔，将壶倒置注水，盛满放正，滴水不漏，符合物理学中“连通器液面等高”原理。造型大气，设计独特，饰纹精美，釉色莹润，是耀州青瓷中的珍品。Museum information card, Mar 2024 ↩︎
- Celadon | Song Dynasty (960-1279) | Excavated from the Site of Yaozhou Kiln, Tongchuan City | Shaanxi Provincial History Museum collection. 瓷器｜宋（公元960年一公元1279年）｜铜川市耀州窑遗址出土｜陕西历史博物馆藏 ↩︎
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