Ewer with makara spout

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This finely formed glazed ewer with leaf-shaped strap handle and spout in the form of a mythical dragon makara was intended for serving wine. Its elegant form, of bulbous body and slender neck with flared rim, creates a pleasing silhouette to grace a dining table. The decorative focus has been on the modelled strap handle and dragon-shaped spout with only the most minimal painted decoration, sketchily brushed flowers reserved between two double-lines on the shoulder. Such glazed stoneware ewers of this type were produced in the ceramic industry that prospered in the Hong (Red) River delta region of northern Vietnam in the thirteenth and fourteenth century. Such ewers are rarely found in an export context and appears to have been largely for domestic consumption.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art