Vase in the form of a Neolithic ritual object cong

A tall porcelain vessel with a square cross-section and a fitted metal cover topped by a flame-shaped finial. Vertical grooves and recessed panels run down each face, and a fine crackle covers the glaze, which reads as a pale grey-blue in this black-and-white photograph.

Look closer: A fine crackle pattern spreads across the glaze over the whole body.

Artist

Unknown

Date

19th century

Medium

Porcelain with turqoise blue glaze (Jingdezhen ware), gilt bronze cover

Source

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Size

1561 × 3000 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Purchase by subscription, 1879