Meiping

A meiping (Chinese: 梅瓶; pinyin: méipíng; lit. 'plum vase') is a type of vase in Chinese ceramics.[1] It is traditionally used to display branches of plum blossoms.[1][2] The meiping was first made of stoneware during the Tang dynasty (618–907).[3] It was originally used as a wine vessel, but since the Song dynasty (960–1279) it also became popular as a plum vase and got its name "meiping".[4] It is tall, with a narrow base spreading gracefully into a wide body, followed by a sharply-rounded shoulder, a short and narrow neck, and a small opening.[2][4][5]

They may have lids, and many lids have no doubt been lost. The equivalent shape in Korean ceramics, where it was derived from Chinese examples, is called a Maebyeong. A distinct variant is the "truncated meiping", where there is only the top half of the usual shape, giving a squat vase with a wide bottom. This is largely restricted to Cizhou ware.[6]

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  Cizhou ware, 13th century, Song dynasty
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  Lidded vase with lotus sprays, Qingbai ware, Southern Song period
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  Yaozhou ware, celadon, Song dynasty
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  Vase with horizontal ribs, Southern Song period
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  Vase with copper-red underglaze, Ming dynasty
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  18th-century vase
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  Porcelain, Jingdezhen ware, painted with cobalt blue under transparent glaze, 15th century
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  Meiping vase, Chinese, Ming Dynasty, 16th century CE. Arabic inscription. Porcelain with underglaze blue and small touches of overglaze enamel. Burrell Collection, Glasgow, UK