2-734-958 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Meiping Vase with Cloud Collars and Peony Sprays, 1403-1424. This beautiful vase, called a meiping, is a testimony to the extremely high standards demanded for imperial white porcelain of the Yongle period. It is exquisitely potted and subtly decorated with "hidden decoration" (anhua) incised into the body. The clear glaze over the white body has a luster and purity; the white colour radiates with a soft glow like melting snow, described by the Chinese connoisseurs as tianbai, or "sweetwhite." Tianbai wares were produced for use in imperial offerings and have always been considered a great achievement of the Yongle period.