This vessel is so unique in the history of Chinese ceramics that it has sparked a number of debates regarding its provenance. The high quality of the piece makes its identification as an authentic antique porcelain a certainty, yet the unusual mixture of decorative features and method of craftsmanship has as yet to be explained. The long, lined neck and phoenix-headed spout point to northern Chinese origins, where craftsmen were strongly influenced by Middle Eastern prototypes. Ding ware created in Hebei province (see the example included in this exhibit) (link to ps050597.jpg) also made use of incised designs, but on the other hand, so did the Xicun kilns of Guangdong province in southern China (though, admittedly, the quality of Xicun wares was typically of lower quality than this example).¹  Since there was a trend that valued things imported from the Middle East during the Tang period, and since phoenix-headed ewers with handles were in use during that time, and though this object was created without a handle, it may have been made in imitation of these Tang-era wares.

(1) From the British Museum web page dedicated to this object.