An Underglaze-Blue and Copper-Red Celadon-Ground Rouleau Vase Kangxi, Painted with the Eight Horses of Muwang and a Pine Tree , Painted in Underglaze-Blue, Copper-Red and White on a Translucent Pale

Ref: AA32

An underglaze-blue and copper-red celadon-ground rouleau vase Kangxi, painted with the eight horses of Muwang and a pine tree , painted in underglaze-blue, copper-red and white on a translucent pale green ground

Dimensions:

12.1/2 in.; 31.8 cm.

Condition:

Good

Notes:

Muwang was a Zhou dynasty king who had eight horses. These horses were used to pull his chariot. The eight horses are referred to in a Zhou dynasty story known as the Mu Tian Zi (The Heavenly Son of Mu

Compare a related yenyen vase with a similar design preserved in the Umezawa Kinenkan Museum, Japan, published in Shincho Kôgei No Bi, Osaka, 1994, pl. 19; and another example in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Compendium Collections in the Palace Museum. Ceramics, vol. 22, Beijing, 2014, pl. 184.

Producing Kangxi porcelain with a celadon ground was highly technically difficult, primarily due to the challenges of achieving a stable, uniform, jade-like green color through precise control of the kiln atmosphere and glaze composition.

The decoration illustrates the classic Chinese literary legend of the "Eight Horses of King Mu" (Mu Wang). According to myth, these extraordinary steeds possessed mystical abilities and carried King Mu of Zhou on his historic journey to visit the Queen Mother of the West.