A beautiful and lively medley of auspicious Chinese birds and flowers are painted on the broad base of the interior of this pair of famille rose dishes. The phoenix, pheasant, cranes, magpies and swallows fly and wonder amidst luscious blooms of the flowers of the four seasons; the peony, lotus, chrysanthemum and prunus. Set against a vibrant lime green ground, the birds, foliage and plumage are skillfully rendered, with realistic veining, and subtle colour gradations in the enamels. The lack of proportion of the motifs and dense decoration also create a romantic and whimsical charm to the overall composition. On the exterior of the slightly flaring shallow sides of the dishes, the Eight Immortals are depicted riding the waves amidst auspicious ruyi clouds, a reference to a key mythical story of crossing the ocean. Together, the auspicious decoration convey wishes of longevity, prosperity and good fortune. The lime-green bases of both dishes carry the six-character, “Da Qing Daoguang Nian Zhi” (Made in the Daoguang reign of the great Qing dynasty) in iron-red. The technical mastery evident in the brushwork reflects how high-quality production continued in the late Qing period, especially the Daoguang and Guangxu periods.
