BG75
The body of pear-drop form, set with an elegant loop handle and long slender spout, decorated in bright famille verte enamels, the body pained with two large cartouches one (depicted above and below left) with a pair of red-crowned crane perched on a branch among red and blue blooms, the other (depicted below right) depicting a pair of birds with blue wings and yellow breasts, possibly blue tits, perching on a blossoming branch, large and finely rendered butterflies flank each cartouche, each a different colour, and a motif of pendant peony and vines decorates both sides of the tall neck, further flower sprays adorn the spout and handle, the domed cover with upright lotus decoration and surmounted by a knop finial.
Literature
Red crowned crane, as depicted on the present ewer, are associated with good fortune and longevity, and are often depicted carrying Daoist immortals from earth to the heavens.
