Ming dynasty, Xuande reign
This blue-and-white porcelain bowl features a slightly flared rim, a curved wall, a slightly convex base, and a low ring foot. The entire surface is adorned with blue-and-white decoration. On the outer wall, between trees and clouds, two elegant ladies are depicted riding on phoenixes. One turns back to gaze at the other, who meets her gaze, while a grand pavilion emerges amidst the landscape of mountains and clouds, seemingly the destination of the two phoenix-riding ladies. A band of scrolling foliage decorates the outer wall of the ring foot, and the base bears a double-circle mark inscribed with the blue underglaze characters “Made during the Xuande reign of the Great Ming dynasty.” The depiction of the ladies is a representative motif on Xuande blue-and-white porcelain. Besides this “two beauties riding phoenixes” scene, other common themes include “playing the xiao to call for the phoenix,” “riding a crane,” “capturing the moon in hand by the waterside,” “poetry under banana leaves,” “poetry in an autumn night,” and “Chinese flowering apple-inspired poetry.” These pieces feature finely detailed figures and well-organized compositions, resembling standalone landscape paintings. Xie Zhaozhe (1567–1624) remarked in Five Assorted Offerings the following: “Xuande wares not only have elegant forms and refined glaze but even their painted inscriptions and figures are masterpieces. I once saw an imperial tea bowl depicting the scene of ‘A Small Silk Fan Flicking Fireflies’—the figures were so vivid that it resembled a painting by Li Sixun.” Thus, this remark likely reflects his amazement at a Xuande piece featuring “poetry in an autumn night.”