Wucai Bowls

China. Probably Chongzheng (1628-1643). Height 3.5 cm Diameter 15 cm A pair of snarlike flower-shaped bowls with brown-painted renders. Hand-painted décor in cobalt blue underglaze and enamel colours in red, green, eggplant and yellow with contour lines in black. Depicts a motif of a bird in a lotus pond with various plants, flowers and an insect in the centre, enclosed by a cobalt blue ring, and with floral motifs outside. Six-character Chenghua badge (1465-1487) under the bottom in cobalt blue. Made for the Japanese market for serving kaiseki (the tea ceremony's meal). Similarly published in the Michael Butler Collection "Chinese Porcelain", p. 34, pl. 27. See also a set of five bowls of equal shape with various aquatic plant motifs, No. 383 in "The Peony Pavilion Collection: Chinese Tea Ceramics for Japan (c. 1580-1650)", Christie's London 1989. 156372-9