BF08
Further images
Of slender pear form, raised on a small straight foot, the neck flaring slightly at the mouth, decorated in shades of underglaze blue, the body painted with a design of two seated women, each wearing long robes and a high headdress, their long hair flowing loose down their backs, both holding a leafy sprig in one hand; they sit facing a jardinière containing a blossoming plant, while on the opposite side is a single plantain tree; a band of triangle work separates the body from the neck of the vase, the neck painted with a bird flying among blossoming branches, with a further band of triangle work around the mouth; the foot decorated with a double line in underglaze blue; the base glazed, with a lingzhi fungus in the centre in underglaze blue.
Literature
For a vase of similar size and decoration, see the Victoria and Albert Museum, museum number CIRC.364-1931. The elegant, slender women depicted on our vase were a popular motif for porcelain produced in Jingdezhen during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor. In China, they were known as mei ren (beautiful women), and lange lijzen (long Elizas) in Dutch.
