Page 322 - Christies King St. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART

in relation to the rocks and fowers. However, it is in the depiction of the tail feathers of the male birds that the greatest refnement
can be seen. Although the tails of the roosters on Chenghua ‘chicken’ cups look black at a distance, close examination of the
15th century cups provides a reminder of a missing enamel colour within the Chenghua enamel palette - black enamel. On the
Chenghua ‘chicken’ cups an approximation of black was created using underglaze blue covered with khaki-coloured enamel
derived from iron. The craftsmen of this period encountered considerable dificulty in producing a black enamel that was glossy
and that did not rub of too easily - a problem that was not completely solved until the 18th century. On the ‘chicken’ cups of
the Kangxi period, including the current vessel, the tails were painted in black enamel. However, without enhancement even this
enamel was neither glossy nor very stable. It was therefore covered in a clear pale green enamel in order to prevent it being rubbed
of, and in order to give it an appearance of depth and gloss. This multiple enamelling technique used very successfully on the
current cup. Despite the cumbersome nature of the technique, the porcelain decorator of this ‘chicken’ cup has succeeded in
creating tail feathers which have a lightness and movement, which was lacking from the Chenghua originals. This style of tail
feathers was taken up on some of the later Yongzheng ‘chicken’ cups, when it was easier to produce using a new black enamel,
which required no over-enamel.

The subject of hen, rooster and chickens, depicted on this doucai cup, is one which has a long history in China, and provided
inspiration for artists as early as the Song dynasty. The National Palace Museum has in its collection a painting of this subject
dated to the Xuande reign (1426-35), which bears both the Xuande Emperor’s seal and an inscription from his brush (illustrated
by Ts’ai Ho-pi, ‘Chenghua Porcelain in Historical Context’, The Emperor’s broken china - Reconstructing Chenghua porcelain,
London, 1995, p. 22, fg. 2). Perhaps more importantly, the attitude of the Chenghua Emperor to this theme is made clear in the
colophon written by him in AD 1486 on an anonymous Song dynasty painting of a hen and her chicks, which is also preserved in
the collection of the National Palace Museum (illustrated ibid. p. 22, fg. 1). The Emperor praises the hen for guarding her chickens,
responding to their cries, nourishing them, and defending them. It is likely that the nurturing aspect of this decorative scheme
particularly appealed to the Chenghua Emperor, as it appears to have done to both the Kangxi and Yongzheng emperors, who
possibly drew parallels between the care of the hen for her chicks and their own care for the welfare of their subjects throughout
the Empire. On the Chenghua, Kangxi and Yongzheng ‘chicken’ cups the birds are painted showing them as a family unit with the
rooster and hen watching the chickens run around and peck at their food. The style in which the birds are depicted is lively and
natural, while the relative proportions of the birds and the fowers, which also form part of the design, are intentionally altered.
This manipulation of the relative sizes in fne ceramic decoration was noted by Chen Liu in the Tao ya, where the author says:
‘In painting fowers and birds on porcelain the birds should not be very big nor the fowers very small otherwise the unity of the
picture is lost.’ (Chen Liu, Tao ya, 1910, translated by G.R. Sayer in T’ao ya (Pottery Refnements), 1959, p. 77.) The well-balanced
design on the current ‘chicken’ cup bears out the wisdom of this observation.

A Kangxi doucai ‘chicken’ cup of similar style to the current example, formerly in the collection of J. M. Hu, was sold by Christie’s
Hong Kong on 28 November, 2005, lot 1334.

PROPERTY OF A EUROPEAN GENTLEMAN

362

A RARE MING-STYLE DOUCAI ‘CHICKEN’ CUP
KANGXI SIX-CHARACTER MARK IN UNDERGLAZE BLUE AND OF THE PERIOD (1662-1722)

清康熙 鬥彩雞缸杯 六字篆書款

The cup is fnely potted in imitation of its Ming prototype with gently fared sides, and is well-rendered
around the exterior in soft translucent enamels and underglaze-blue tones to depict two cockerel-and-hen
groups, each group observing their chicks foraging for food. They are divided on one side by iron-red roses
growing from ornamental rocks, and the other by bamboo and lily, all between underglaze-blue double
lines at the rim and a single line above the footless base.

3. ¡ in. (8.5 cm.) diam.

£40,000-60,000 $61,000-91,000
€55,000-82,000

PROVENANCE:

Acquired in Eastern Europe in the early 20th century and thence by descent to the current owner.

來源:歐洲私人珍藏； 於二十世紀初購自東歐，由家族珍藏至今

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