Shanghai Museum: Vessels

During our stop in Shanghai we visited their wonderful Museum where photography was permitted!Now, I've got way too many wonderful things to share with you. I decided to break it into little bite sized pieces, so you can really savor them.



Its been a long time since I've been near a potters wheel, but these got me thinking I'd like to give it another go. China has a long tradition of ceramic art, and their painted pottery is wildly famous, but I rather preferred the subdued elegance of these shapes. They had the luxurious feel that imbues objects made with care and expertise.



This piece reminded me of the lovely McCoy pottery that my Gram, Mom and aunts all collect, except that it is around 800 years old. Great design really is timeless, don't you think? The shells are such a great baroque touch on something so simple. I would love to see it filled with cherry blossoms.



This lovely took my breath away. I think it is meant to echo the shape of a lotus blossom and it really does capture something from nature- that spout looks exactly like a flower about to burst open into full bloom.



But this hearty old fellow was my favorite. Again, the timelessness of it is striking. It is from ancient China but looks like it came off Warren MacKenzie's wheel.