Blue-glazed White Earthenware Rabbit

Tang dynasty, 618 - 907

While white-glazed earthenware rabbits are known in a number of museum collections, cobalt-blue-glazed models are extremely rare. One example is in the collection of the Tokyo National Museum. In Chinese mythology, the Jade Rabbit was the companion of the goddess of the moon, Chang’e. Often shown with a pestle and mortar mixing the elixir of immortality, the rabbit is closely linked with Daoism and themes of longevity.