Chinese Yuan Style Faceted Baluster Vase with Feline Handles

Two phoenixes, one big idea, and a vase that insists on having corners.

This Yuan style faceted baluster vase with feline handles comes from China and is of indeterminate age, in porcelain with cobalt paint. Blue and white wares of the Yuan dynasty set a standard Chinese potters returned to for centuries, and later pieces often borrowed the look on purpose. Phoenixes fly through peony scrolls and clouds in a lobed central panel, with flame shapes above and cloud panels below. Small beast heads project from the shoulders. Rust spots show at the foot and neck. Sixteen inches high and nine and a quarter across.

The birds appear to have somewhere to be.