https://emuseum.cornell.edu/internal/media/dispatcher/97603/fullGourd form, spouted bottlelate 15th–early 16th century[com.gallerysystems.emuseum.core.entities.RecordXPerson@1ab25]com.gallerysystems.emuseum.core.entities.RecordXPerson@1ab25Stoneware with underglaze blueVietnam had long established maritime trade routes prior to the export of glazed ceramics, but it was in the fourteenth century that Vietnamese wares entered the international ceramics market in response to the Ming dynasty ban on Chinese foreign trade. Vietnamese pieces were used in architectural decoration, burial rituals, and served as heirloom objects for markets in Southeast Asia (principally Indonesia), Japan, and the Middle East. Blue and white ceramics were the dominant category of export wares, and the vast numbers of kendis, covered boxes, jars, dishes, bowls, and cups found abroad and in shipwrecks display wide-ranging artistic experimentation. This double-gourd bottle, decorated with birds flying among cloud scrolls, floral and horizontal bands, and peony and lotus designs, is a rare find among the Vietnamese ceramic wares discovered in shipwrecks, such as the historically important Hoi An Hoard. This particular period of ceramic production in Vietnam was characterized by the adoption of Chinese models with what is generally proclaimed to be a unique inventiveness and playfulness in design and form attributed to Vietnamese artistry. Pamela Nguyen Corey, Doctoral Candidate 7/10/14com.gallerysystems.emuseum.core.entities.Classification@61https://emuseum.cornell.edu/objects/47409/rdf