Lobed pot

Look, then compare

At card size, look for repeated lobes and the divided lid outline. In a larger view, compare the lid divisions with the mouth beneath. 《荊溪朱泥》 no. 86 has a comparatively flat lobed cover; no. 87 carries the divisions up a domed cover. The flat example is a counterexample to a rule that every Linghua must have a fluted dome. Their names describe related treatments, not identical construction.

No. 86 is catalogued at 7 cm high and 12.5 cm wide; no. 87 at 7.8 cm high and 11.2 cm wide. Multiple views show the lids and bases of these same two pots; they are not extra specimens. A closed side view cannot prove how many positions a lid fits. The drawing shows one domed variant at approximate scale.

黃健亮、黃怡嘉《荊溪朱泥》, nos. 86–87, pp. 130–131 / PDF 132–133.

Form#

The numbered parts describe the illustrated variant. Compare the examples above before treating any one detail as a rule for the whole family.

Knob

1ribbed water-caltrop flower bud knob (菱花鈕) or round bead resting on a multi-petalled calyx (花蒂鈕)

Lid

2A lobed lid fitted to the matching mouth. Repeated lobes may allow seating at corresponding indexed positions (通轉), not at every arbitrary angle; fit depends on the individual pot.

Spout

3curved spout fluted with longitudinal ribs (筋紋彎流) continuing the petal divisions of the body

Handle

4ear-shaped loop handle scored with longitudinal ribs (筋紋耳把)

Body

5Repeated lobes divided by vertical grooves; their number and depth vary between examples.

Base

6foliate ring foot (菱花圈足) or slightly hollowed lobed base echoing the belly ribs

³⁴⁵⁶ Numbers mark the parts described under Form.

Lift a lobed lid to see the part normally hidden inside the mouth. Xu Sihai’s Hemei pot (合梅壶) is photographed with its lid seated and turned outward. The projecting inner flange follows the lobes of the opening. (许四海《吾壶四海》 (2009) · 合梅壶 · p. 34–35 (PDF 60–61))

Working volume#

Use the volume to the intended fill level, rather than the exterior dimensions or shape name. Leave room for the leaves and lid, and choose cups or a serving pitcher that can receive a complete infusion. Two pots of the same named form may have very different working capacities.

Variants and sub-types#

Xu Hantang’s photographed 菱花提梁壶 combines an elongated lobed body with an overhead handle. In his account, the elongated plan and the addition of the handle were decisions he made for this piece.^{pp. 35–36 · PDF 44–45}

Compare two floral pots by following a groove up the body to the lid. The Asian Art Museum’s narcissus pot (B65P27) evokes six petals. Bartholomew counts sixteen divisions on the Nelson-Atkins fluted pot (58-13 A,B), catalogued in Chinese as 菊瓣壺, a chrysanthemum-petal pot. Their individual flower names distinguish them within the broader family of lobed forms.^{No. 12–13 · pp. 35–37 · PDF 37–39B65P2758-13 A,B}

The Nelson-Atkins record gives Ming in its date field and Qing in its Chinese title. A precise date remains unresolved here.^{58-13 A,B}

History#

1. Ming, Jiajing to Wanli (1597)Zhou Gaoqi says Dong Han (董翰), one of the four Wanli-era masters, was the first to make the 菱花 (water-caltrop blossom) sinew-ribbed form (始造菱花式，已極工巧). The Flagstaff House K.S. Lo Collection preserves a six-lobed narcissus pot attributed to Shi Peng (時朋, Cat. 2, H 9.0 × W 10.5 cm), a six-lobed magnolia blossom pot incised 「萬曆丁酉年時大彬製」 (1597, Cat. 3 / C81.498, H 8.0 × W 12.1 cm), and an eight-lobed chrysanthemum pot by Li Maolin (李茂林, Cat. 6, H 9.6 × W 11.5 cm).¹⁵⁷
2. late Ming (Wanli to Chongzhen)Zhou lists 菱花 among the forms of Xu Youquan (徐友泉) and records that in the Chongzhen era Shen Zice (沈子澈) made a lobed Linghua pot for the connoisseur 華師道 (Hua Shidao), inscribing it with a four-line verse on spring water and tea.¹⁷
3. Qing, Qianlong reignJingxi Zhuni catalogues no. 86 as a white-clay Linghua bearing the name 茂通. Its photographs show the lobed mouth and matching lid separately. The book gives a height of 7 cm and a width of 12.5 cm.^{86 · 130 · PDF 132}
4. 20th centuryWang Yinchun (王寅春) and Gu Jingzhou (顧景舟) codify modern precision-template sinew-ribbed (筋紋器) construction in forms such as Linghua Xianyuan (菱花線圓壺) and Baoling (寶菱壺).³⁴

Attributions are shown as the source states them.

Related#