Cup

The goblet is complete; there is a small chip on the rim, followed by a crack. It is circular in shape. In profile, the beaker has a wall that flares slightly at the top, topped by a slightly flared rim. The lower part of the wall is curved towards the bottom, which is flat. It rests on a ring-shaped foot. The outer edge of the foot is beveled and free of glaze. The bottom is flat and recessed; the decoration covers the outside of the cup, as well as the inside rim and bottom. The decoration is plant-like and fan-shaped, treated in Imari. It is hand-painted in two-tone blue underglaze, then traced and painted in iron red, with gold highlights, over glaze. A fillet is drawn under the inner edge in blue. The center of the background is decorated with a small four-leaf stem, traced and painted in blue, and surmounted by a flower, traced and painted in red. The decoration on the outer wall consists of the same element repeated on opposite walls; it is bordered by a blue-painted fillet below the rim. It consists of a fan bordered by this fillet: it is traced in blue with gilding, and its blades are painted alternately in blue and red. The wall is occupied by a rectangular shape surrounded by a ribbon, all traced and painted in blue: this could be a musical instrument (Castanets of Cao Gozhui), one of the emblems of the Eight Immortals, or the Pair of Books, one of the Eight Precious Things. To the right of this form extends a long, wavy, leafy branch, traced and painted in blue, and trimmed with ribbed leaves traced in red. The two flowers, traced and painted in red and gold, that decorate it differ: in one case, it’s circular in shape, and in the other, a wavy oval. There is a blue tracery at the top of the foot. The top of the cup is covered with a brown-painted ferruginous coating.