Chinese Vase with Elephant Motif

Sky blue, with two elephant heads tucked neatly beneath the lip.

This vase with elephant motif comes from Nanyang, Henan Province, China, and is contemporary, in egg shell and Nanyang porcelain. Pale blue glazes have a long history in Chinese ceramics, often admired for their resemblance to the sky after rain. The vase is a tall, slender baluster with a high shoulder, tapering to a flared, stepped foot. A short trumpet neck opens at the top, and an elephant head on each side of the shoulder forms a handle, trunk curling down and out. A fine crackle runs through the glaze. It is 16.25 inches high, 5 wide and 3.5 deep.

The elephants are doing the heavy lifting, as usual.