Twelve cups in Famille-verte style representing the flowers of the months

The immense varieties of flowers are emblematic of the rhythm and order in nature. In literary art, flowers have been depicted as objects of appreciation as well as vehicles of complex symbolism. Therefore, flowers have long assumed a prominent position in the development of Chinese art. These thinly-potted cups are painted in an elegant and delicate manner with flowering plants and trees, each characterizing a particular month of the year. Outline drawing is generally in black and various minor plants, rocks and water are represented in underglaze blue or enamels. Each cup bears on the reverse side a poem in blue, followed in each case (except the twelfth) by the seal: shang ("to appreciate").