Ru Ware “Fenghua” Mallet Vase (汝窯奉華紙槌瓶)

Northern Song Dynasty, 960–1127

Height: 22.4 cm, mouth diameter: 4.4 cm, base diameter: 8.6 cm

National Palace Museum, Taipei

       The mallet vase is a shape that derived from glass crafts of Iran and Egypt, entering China around the 11th century. The mallet jar had been popular in Middle East glassware from the 9th to 10th centuries and was used to store wine, oil, and rose water. In China, the Ru ware mallet vase, done in imitation using porcelain, was suited as an object for display and appreciation.