Porcelain-glazed brush container ‘Mandarin Ducks’, Ming dynasty

A moulded porcelain vessel with underglaze decoration in blue and white. It has a circular base and a rounded body with a hollow interior, moulded with details in relief to depict two ducks with their wings close to their bodies, their tails raised and their heads together. It shows in detail the plumage of the birds, as well as their faces, rendered in blue on a white background.

The depiction of two mandarin ducks together is related, in Chinese culture, to the traditional expression ‘只羡鸳鸯不羡仙’ (I only envy the mandarin ducks but not the immortals) which tries to teach that as long as you can grow old holding hands like mandarin ducks and stay together for life, there is no wish to be a god in heaven. Also, there is a Chinese idiom ‘百年好合’ (Bainián hao hé) ‘A happy marriage for a hundred years’ which means to wish two people love and affection for a lifetime.

Height 16.5 cm; Diameter of mouth 7.4 cm; Diameter of base 7.9 cm