KANGXI PERIOD (1662-1722)

Porcelain decorated with the exquisite, subtle doucai enamels in the Chenghua period, were highly treasured both by the Ming and Qing courts. Few pieces rival the exacting quality of Chenghua 'chicken' cups which are finely potted and meticulously painted in soft enamels with a delightfully free and spontaneous scene of chickens tending to their chicks. While the theme of chickens is rarely used on porcelain decoration, a number of such cups were produced during the late Ming and Qing dynasties, in an attempt to recreate the fine and rare qualities of the famous prototype.

Compare the doucai ‘chicken’ cup of similar small size with apocryphal Chenghua mark, but dating to the Kangxi-Yongzheng period, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong 31 May 2017, lot 3023.