Mei Ping octagonal vase; China, 20th century.

Mei Ping octagonal vase; China, twentieth century.
Glazed stoneware.
Measurements: 31 x 17 cm.

Faceted Mei Ping vase decorated with a mottled glaze inspired by the ancient Jizhou style of the Song period (960-1279). In terms of form, the Mei Ping or plum branch bottle is undoubtedly the most important typology of the Song dynasty. The Jizhou was one of the styles of the so-called Song black ceramics. Produced in the province of Jiangxi, it is a style of late introduction, already at the time of the Southern Song dynasty, in the 12th century. If the Cizhou type was the most innovative in the North, the Jizhou will be the most innovative in the South. It is a very varied style in typologies and decorative techniques, although the most famous procedure is the one that imitates the tortoiseshell, based on sprinkling bamboo ash mixed with some kind of engobe on the surface of the glaze, before firing.