These two oval-shaped wine cups taper to a rounded base with three small feet. Each of these cups have inscriptions carved on them and finely incised decorations. The glaze has a distinctively pinkish tone. A three-line inscription was carved onto a paler section of unglazed porcelain on one side of the cup and a crane was finely incised on the other. These cups have been referred to as the 'crane and lyre' cups indicating the crane and qin motifs that were usually incised on the exterior. The crane had been a symbol of immortality and the qualities of a gentleman ('junzi') since the Zhou dynasty (1027–256 BCE) after which it was interpreted in a variety of ways.Dehua, located on the southeast coast of Fujian province, is well known for its production of white porcelain, known to Europeans as 'blanc de Chine'. The earliest Dehua porcelain was produced as early as the 14th century but the production and quality of these porcelain peaked around the 17th and 18th centuries.
