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Ewer in the Shape of a Phoenix

about 1570–1580
11 11/16 x 3 x 5 7/8 in. (29.69 x 7.62 x 14.92 cm)


Creation Place: China
Medium: Enamel on unglazed porcelain; gilded silver mounts added by Friedrich Hillebrand (German, d. 1608), Nuremberg, Germany, about 1600, with later additions
Credit Line: Bequest of Charles Phelps Taft and Anna Sinton Taft
Accession Number: 1931.18

Provenance
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.

Collection Lists
This object is in the following collections: