Fonthill Vase

rdf:langString Fonthill Vase

rdf:langString The Fonthill Vase, also called the Gaignières-Fonthill Vase after François Roger de Gaignières and William Beckford's Fonthill Abbey, is a bluish-white Qingbai Chinese porcelain vase dated to 1300–1340 AD. It is famous as the earliest documented Chinese porcelain object to have reached Europe. The vase is an early piece of Jingdezhen porcelain, and comes from the final years of Qingbai ware in Jingdezhen before it was replaced by the new blue and white porcelain, which started in earnest after 1320. It is an unusual "experimental" vase with applied relief decoration in the medallions, in the usual monochrome blueish-white Qingbai glaze. After probably arriving in Europe when nearly new, the history of the vase can mostly be documented. Eventually it reached the National Museum of Ireland in 1882, and in 2018 was on display in the "Curator's Choice" permanent display at the National Museum of Ireland – Decorative Arts and History (Collins Barracks, Dublin).