1770-1880

The first bottle bears a cyclical date corresponding to July 1864 and a dedication reading Chunyan renxiong zhengzhi yawan ('For respected brother Chunyan's refined enjoyment and correction'), and is signed Fan Lutao ke ('Engraved by Fan Lutao'). While there is no record of who Fan Lutao was, the bottle is dedicated as a presentation to Chunyan, who was most likely Cai Guolin (1843-1909), Zi Yuping Hao Chunyan, from Tainan. He passed the provincial imperial examination in 1882 and became a Juren. He came in third in the triennial provincial service exam in 1890, and was appointed to a position in the National History Department, returning to Taiwan to teach in two colleges. Also noteworthy is the unusual technique of decoration, executed by engraving through the enamel to reveal the underlying white glaze. This technique is rarely used for inscriptions and dates back to the early Qianlong period and was a developed by Tang Ying.
The second bottle with iron-red shou characters is apparently unique in its color and design, and retains its original stopper.