Box
maker
Unknown
Dateearly 19th century
Place MadeChina, East Asia
MediumGlazed porcelain with enamel and gilding
Dimensions5 x 11.5 cm (1 15/16 x 4 1/2 in.)
ClassificationsBoxes
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberC1s26.1.a-b
eMuseum ID723568
Original NumberC1s26-s
EmbARK ObjectID11023
TMS Source ID279
Last Updated8/14/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryProbably purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner during her travels through Asia in 1883-84, these three Islamic vessels were most likely made as ceremonial vessels for a mosque. Although probably created as a set in the 19th century, painted on the base of the incense burner is the stamp of Ta Ming Hsüan-tê nien chih, an Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. During the 19th century, it was not uncommon for Chinese ceramicists to include false dates from the Ming Dynasty on porcelain for foreign buyers.
BibliographyNotesGilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 22.
Alex Eliopoulos, "Three Chinese Islamic Altar Vessels," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 13 April 2021, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/three-chinese-islamic-altar-vessels
Alex Eliopoulos, "Three Chinese Islamic Altar Vessels," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 13 April 2021, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/three-chinese-islamic-altar-vessels
MarksNotesInscribed (on lid, in Arabic): الحمد الله [alhamdulillah ("Praise to God/Allah")]
ProvenanceNotesEntered Isabella Stewart Gardner's collection by 1915.
