Vase with floral scrolls in low relief

The three rows of ornaments on this piece depict leaf scrolls and peony branches, with chrysanthemum scrolls on top. The shape, with a long curved neck expanding into a compacted body on a high footring, appeared commonly during the twelfth to fourteenth centuries. Painted, mold-impressed, or incised decorations were employed on this shape. The decorative scheme, which typically consists of two or three molded friezes on the body, however, was employed particularly on the pale blue glazed wares made in Jiangxi during the Southern Song (WW 1980.2: pl. 8, fig. 1). The pale blue glazed type even combined openwork with mold-impressed patterns on one piece (CGK Zenshu 1984 vol. 16: 82). While this work was thus possibly made in Jiangxi, its dark-toned glaze remains perplexing.