Hidden Longevity

Jingdezhen, 1790-1880
Height: 6.94 cm
Mouth/lip: 0.78/1.22 cm
Stopper: glass, carved with a coiled chi dragon; gilt-bronze collar

Provenance:
Chengtian Guwancheng, Beijing, December 2007
Hugh Moss (HK) Ltd

Colourless glaze on grey-beige porcelain; of elongated-ovoid form with a cylindrical neck, wide mouth, convex lip, and recessed flat, circular foot surrounded by a convex, circular foot rim; the porcelain body engraved beneath the glaze with an anhua 暗畫 (hidden decoration) design of thirteen circular floral medallions, made up of various stylized, symbolic flowers, some overlapping each other, and a shou (longevity) character in seal script, the upper neck with a band of formalized lingzhi, the grey-beige- looking glaze heavily crackled, the foot and interior both glazed.