Item No.: 1043
Name: A green-ground sancai square vase with plum trees and birds welcoming spring
Period: Qing dynasty, Kangxi reign
Height: 50.0 cm
The Chinese catalogue describes this round-mouthed, square-bodied form as an innovation of the Kangxi reign, evoking the traditional concept of a round heaven and a square earth. Against a lake-water-green ground, brown, yellow, and white decoration depicts four old plum trees and four singing yellow birds. Together they express the arrival of spring and good news. The composition, arrangement, and restrained colors give the vase a refined, elegant character.