Four porcelain cups of deep, slightly flaring form with a narrow foot. The outside of each is divided into vertical panels: a stylised flower outlined in gilt on an iron-red ground, a crane curled into a roundel on a black ground with gilt lattice, and a red and gilt bird among grasses on white, separated by narrow bands of green, yellow and black lattice. The rims are edged in red and gold.
Inside, a printed blue key-fret border runs below the rim and a blue roundel with pine sprays decorates the centre. A blue band of overlapping petals circles the foot, and the recessed base is unglazed. The decoration is enamelled, printed and hand painted. We date the set to about 1870 to 1920, in the late Qing dynasty.
Each cup: Height 6.7 cm · Diameter 8 cm
Learn more: The Qing Dynasty
