Chinese Ceramic Vase

Six flat sides and a glaze as blue as a swimming pool at noon.

This vase comes from Nanyang in Henan Province, China, and is contemporary, of egg shell and Nanyang porcelain. The shape follows the classic meiping, a form with high shoulders and a small mouth, long associated with plum blossoms. The body here is faceted into six panels, curving in at the waist before flaring to a stepped hexagonal base. The glaze is an even pale blue, with a barely visible crackle. It is 3 inches wide and 7 high.

Cool, composed and not at all interested in compromise.