Images(3)

Cup

Date1628-1643

OriginAsia, China, Jingdezhen

MediumPorcelain, hard-paste

DimensionsD: 3 1/4" H: 2 1/4"

Credit LineColonial Williamsburg Foundation

Object numberT125-2013,10

DescriptionPartially reconstructed cup excavated from the site of Colonel John Chiswell’s House, 02HA–00471
Label TextThis mid-17th-century cup decorated in underglaze blue is another unusual piece to have been owned in colonial Virginia. It was recovered from a site near the home of Colonel John Chiswell, but given the destruction of records pertaining to this area of Williamsburg, it is unclear who owned the property during the early 18th-century. On its base is a mark that, when translated, reads “Investigate Antiquity Hall.” The mark indicates that the cup was probably made to honor a Chinese scholar official whose name was Gao Zhengyan. The mark had no meaning to a western audience suggesting that the cup was originally intended for use in China.

Exhibition(s)