Vase with wish-granting wands

The iron red with gold design scheme could be applied over a translucent glaze without the use of underglaze-blue, as on this vase. The shape, with a swelling mid-neck, was a transformation of the old gourd-shaped vase of the Kangxi period (Palace Mus. 1989: 55). Classical elements were assembled here in a stylized way to evoke bronzes; eight friezes consisting of a cloud scroll, fungus branches, banana leaves, turtle shell patterns, and chrysanthemum sprays are framed in cloud-head panels. The red, which fired to three or four tonalities, is brightened by the gold.