Chinese Vase with Bird & Flower Motif

Two birds have settled on a rock beneath the blossoms, and nobody is in a hurry.

This vase with bird and flower motif comes from China and is contemporary, in painted porcelain. Bird and flower painting is one of the great genres of Chinese art, with peonies often read as wishes for wealth and honor and paired birds as a sign of harmony. Cobalt blue peonies and flowering branches wrap the full, rounded body, while the birds perch among rocks near the base. The flared neck carries a lattice of tiny lozenges, with a border of stylized motifs around the foot. It is 12 inches wide and 19 high.

A whole garden, and the birds got the best seats.