Chinese Ceramic Vase

Ribbed like a bamboo shoot, and glazed the green of new leaves.

This vase comes from Nanyang in Henan Province, China, and is contemporary, of egg shell and Nanyang porcelain. Green crackle glazes recall the celadon tradition, which Chinese potters have refined since the Song dynasty and which is generally prized for its jade-like color. A slender neck rises into a small flared mouth, with two looped handles pinched in at the shoulder. The lower body swells in horizontal bands above a short foot, and dark crackle lines trace across the glaze. It is 8.25 inches high and 3.25 in diameter.

Not a single straight line on it, and it manages anyway.