Meiping

It was originally used as a wine vessel, but since the Song dynasty (960–1279) it also became popular as a plum vase and got its name "meiping". It is tall, with a narrow base spreading gracefully into a wide body, followed by a sharply-rounded shoulder, a short and narrow neck, and a small opening. They may have lids, and many lids have no doubt been lost. The equivalent shape in Korean ceramics, where it was derived from Chinese examples, is called a Maebyeong. A distinct variant is the "truncated meiping", where there is only the top half of the usual shape, giving a squat vase with a wide bottom. This is largely restricted to Cizhou ware. • Illustration — Cizhou ware, 13th century, Song dynasty • Illustration — Lidded vase with lotus sprays, Qingbai ware, Southern Song period • Illustration — Yaozhou ware, celadon, Song dynasty • Illustration — Vase with horizontal ribs, Southern Song period • Illustration — Vase with copper-red underglaze, Ming dynasty • Illustration — 18th-century vase • Illustration — Porcelain, Jingdezhen ware, painted with cobalt blue under transparent glaze, 15th century • Illustration — Meiping vase, Chinese, Ming dynasty, 16th century CE. Porcelain with underglaze blue and small touches of overglaze enamel. Burrell Collection, Glasgow, UK