Taft Museum 60th Anniversary

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Cincinnati, Ohio. Taft Museum of Art. Color: Light to Palette, October 22, 1965 – December 6, 1965, no. 49.
Cincinnati, Ohio. Taft Museum of Art. Ming to Ch'ing: Imperial Objects and Textiles, Masterpieces of Chinese Furniture, February 12–June 30, 1975.
New York. China Institute Gallery. As You Wish: Symbol And Meaning On Chinese Porcelains From The Taft Museum, October 23, 1993–January 15, 1994.
Cincinnati, Ohio. Taft Museum of Art. East Meets West: Chinese Export Art and Design, June 19–October 11, 1998.
Ohio. Cincinnati Art Museum. Museum within a Museum: Treasures from the Taft at the Cincinnati Art Museum, January 2002–February 2003 (during TMA renovation).
Cincinnati, Ohio. Taft Museum of Art. In a New Light: Treasures from the Taft, July 3, 2021–May 1, 2022.

Yellow, green, blue, and purple enamels cover this mythical bird’s sculpted porcelain body. Made during the Ming dynasty, this extraordinary ewer is shaped like a fenghuang, called a phoenix in Western cultures. The phoenix symbolizes beauty and, over time, became an emblem of the empress. Such luxury objects served as diplomatic gifts among rulers. The Taft’s ewer, for example, once likely belonged to the Medici, a powerful family that ruled Florence during the Renaissance. It is one of only two known examples.

Probably acquired by Ferdinando I de'Medici [1549-1609], Italy. (Acquired by Duveen, New York, NY); purchased by Charles Phelps Taft [1843-1929] and Anna Sinton Taft [1850-1931], Cincinnati, OH, April 23, 1910 [1]; donated to the Cincinnati Institute of Fine Arts, Cincinnati, OH, May 21, 1927 [2]; transferred to the Taft Museum of Art, Cincinnati, OH, September 1, 2006 [3].

Notes:

[1]. As having “mounts of the Ming period.” See Taft Museum of Art vendor file. [2]. The Cincinnati Institute of Fine Arts (CIFA) was formed by Charles Phelps and Anna Sinton Taft on March 22, 1927 as a non-profit corporation to stimulate the development of art and music in the City of Cincinnati and run the Taft Museum of Art, which opened in 1932. The Tafts offered $1 million for a permanent endowment fund, on the condition that the community raise $2.5 million in matching funds, which was achieved by December 3, 1928. [3]. Until August 31, 2006, the Museum was owned by CIFA, administered by CIFA’s Board of Trustees, and governed by the Taft Museum Board of Overseers. On September 1, 2006, the Museum legally separated from CIFA and began operations as its own incorporated 501(c)(3) entity. This separate incorporation led to the transfer to the separate entity after August 31, 2006 of all tangible assets comprising the Taft collection.

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