Description
This cup has a flared mouth with folded rim, deep curving walls, and a short ring foot. The cup resembles an upside-down bell, and has an arched lid with a ring foot knob. The center of the bowl is decorated with a single China rose with stem, and the exterior brown surface is painted with peonies, China roses, and small daisies. The exterior surface of the lid is painted with China roses, chrysanthemums, small daisies, and camellias. The inner surface of the lid is adorned with a single Chine rose in full bloom. The Yixing purple sand ceramic material of the body is somewhat rough, and the entire body is coated with transparent glaze. The underside of the cup is inscribed with four yellow characters in standard script, divided into two columns, stating, "Kang Xi Nian Zhi (Made in the Kangxi Reign)." The inscription is surrounded by a double-square frame with lines of differing thickness. The inner surfaces of the Yixing purple sand painted enamel vessels in the Museum collections are all unglazed, apart from the painted patterns, and the exterior surfaces were coated with a thin layer of transparent glaze before decorative patterns were painted. This work is listed in the "Furnishing Archive of Enamel, Glass, and Yixing Ware" as "Yixing lidded cup with flower decorations in painted enamels," and this is the only bell-shaped Yixing lidded cup with painted enamel decorations in the Museum collections.