Bowl with Polychrome Enamel Design of Pheasants and Peonies - View 1

The bowl is composed of arced sides and a distinct ringed foot, and the underside bears a four-character reign mark written in blue that translates to “manufactured in the Yongzheng reign” (Yongzheng nianzhi). The body of the bowl is extremely thin. Both the interior and exterior of the sides are cover with a white glaze, which has been compared to the purity of snow and the texture of jade. The exterior is painted with a scene of pheasants and peonies with a juxtaposed poem. The artist executed this brilliant design with great proficiency. A male pheasant dominates the scene; it seems to be seeking food among the peonies. The silky tail feathers are composed of a variety of colors. The neck feathers are rattan-yellow, while the bird's abdomen and legs are iron-red. The tail feathers are ochre. Bursting with a wide array of pink, purple, apricot-yellow, pale-yellow and watery green, the surrounding lake rocks, flowers, and grasses serve as foil for the wild birds; these colors complete the elegance of the elaborate style of flower-and-bird painting.
The poem is a pentasyllabic composition that extols the beauty of the tender pistils that seem to be gilded with gold powder and multi-petal flowers that reflect auspicious clouds. The work is inscribed in the cursive script (caoshu). Crimson-pink seals precede and follow the poem.
Ceramics with enamel paint are also known as painted enamel-ware with clay bisques. This type was successfully manufactured in the fifty-first year of the Kangxi reign (1662-1722) during the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) and experienced a rapid development in the Yongzheng reign before its decline during the Qianlong reign (1736-1795). Although only in existence for more than seventy years, the style was used to elevate the ancient art of Chinese polychrome-porcelain manufacturing to a climax. As a result, a large quantity of fine works of polychrome porcelain were produced; this bowl is one of the masterpieces of that period.

full view of the item (pheasants)