The Museum's phoenix-headed ewer is a superb example of ingbai, or "blue-white" glazed high-fire ceramic.  The head is wonderfully carved and modeled and truly ferocious in appearance.  It is the skill of the Chinese potter, however, that makes this ewer such a compelling vessel.  The quality and color of the glaze, which appears blue-green with opaque white inclusions where it is thickest, link it to archeologically excavated kiln sites in southern China.

Tang or early Song dynasty (possibly 10th century)