SIGNED CHENG MEN AND CHENG KAI, DATED TO THE TENTH DAY OF THE ELEVENTH MONTH OF YIYOU YEAR, CORRESPONDING TO 1885, AND OF THE PERIOD

Lidaoren is the pseudonym of Cheng Men (1834-1908), who is recorded in a Republic publication, Zhongguo huajia renming cidian (A Dictionary of Chinese Artists), as an artist of the late Qing period renowned for his paintings of landscapes, figures and flowers. Cheng Men was also known to have enameled ceramics at Jingdezhen, and together with his contemporaries Jin Pinqing and Wang Shaowei, was a pioneer in the use of soft matte enamels on ceramics which had a profound effect on the work of later artists of the Republic period. Cheng Kai (dates unknown), or Cheng Chongkai, was the son of Cheng Men, and like his father, was also a ceramic artist known to have painted in the qianjiang style.