This is a qingbai (bluish-white) bottle created at the Jingdezhen (景德鎭) kilns located in Jiangxi Province, China. The Jingdezhen kilns first produced porcelain for export during the Tang and Song Dynasties, and by the Yuan Dynasty they had become the center of ceramic production in China. Qingbai ware is known for its extraordinary translucency, which was achieved using kaolin (a special clay mineral) and fine-grained porcelain feldspar that allowed for the creation of vessels with extremely thin walls. The delicate white porcelain would then be covered with a light bluish-green glaze. When properly lit, qingbai ware appears exceptionally smooth and glassy, as if it is glimmering with a bluish-green shadow. This bottle has a flat body and a relatively wide mouth that stretches straight up, with an elephant-shaped handle attached at each shoulder. Two decorative bands circle the shoulder and the lower body (respectively), each with a vine design. Its high footring flares out into an oval base, and the interior of the footring is unglazed. The form is modeled after bronze bottles used in the Han Dynasty for the game of “pitch-pot” (in which players try to toss objects, usually arrows, into a large bronze bottle). It illustrates the cultural trend of collecting bronze antiquities that was popular at the time.