Ask the Scholar

Two Fu-Lions within a landscape are painted in underglaze cobalt blue on this pear shaped bottle vase. The pair of lions play beneath the shade of a pine tree, which reaches up the neck where the moon is visible from its branches. The rocks behind the tree sprout cherry branches and bamboo, combining with the pine to complete a trio of winter plants symbolizing longevity. A couple of bats, emblems of happiness, fly together on the other side of the vase. Great control of brush stroke appears in the highly articulated textures of the scene and its creatures. A wash of cobalt blue, applied in brushy strokes similarly to watercolor upon paper, sets the moon forward from a dark night sky. Faint crackle appears in the glaze allover.