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Lot Essay
Designs of birds perched on flowering branches, as on the present bottle, are taken directly from Song dynasty paintings where bird and flower compositions became popular. The birds are represented as the harbingers of Spring as they perch on a flowering prunus branch which blossoms in late winter.
The inscription on the bottle Suihan Sanyou describes the vegetation 'The Three Friends of Winter' - bamboo, pine and prunus. The theme of the Three Friends also first emerged in poetry of the Song dynasty and then in paintings. Each plant is symbolic in its own right. Bamboo is naturally flexible and is thus associated with immutability or humility. The pine represents longevity and the prunus perseverance. As they number three, the Three Friends are also equated to the three religions of China (Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism) or the three ideal qualities of a gentleman in their individual attributes.
As a rule, overlay bottles consist of darker colors set against a lighter ground, so bottles with a light-colored overlay are the exception, and the present bottle is a spectacular example of this rare group. Its elegant and unusual form is enhanced by a well-carved design in opaque white on opaque blue. The three birds are particularly well laid out, and their overall effect, each reacting to the others, gives the scene a sense of movement which imparts great vitality to the while design.
The inscription on the bottle Suihan Sanyou describes the vegetation 'The Three Friends of Winter' - bamboo, pine and prunus. The theme of the Three Friends also first emerged in poetry of the Song dynasty and then in paintings. Each plant is symbolic in its own right. Bamboo is naturally flexible and is thus associated with immutability or humility. The pine represents longevity and the prunus perseverance. As they number three, the Three Friends are also equated to the three religions of China (Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism) or the three ideal qualities of a gentleman in their individual attributes.
As a rule, overlay bottles consist of darker colors set against a lighter ground, so bottles with a light-colored overlay are the exception, and the present bottle is a spectacular example of this rare group. Its elegant and unusual form is enhanced by a well-carved design in opaque white on opaque blue. The three birds are particularly well laid out, and their overall effect, each reacting to the others, gives the scene a sense of movement which imparts great vitality to the while design.