Chinese Ceramic Vase

The crackle runs everywhere, as if the glaze was startled and stayed that way.

This vase is from Nanyang, Henan Province, China, and is contemporary. It is egg shell and Nanyang porcelain. Crackled glazes have been admired in Chinese ceramics for centuries, the fine network of lines prized rather than hidden. This one is a soft sky blue, with a baluster body, a flaring fluted neck and a bell-shaped foot. Pale ribs run down the neck and around the foot, and a raised ring marks each joint. It is 4 inches wide, 4 deep and 10.5 high.

Calm color, nervous surface, and the two get along fine.