Blue-and-White and Cloisonné-Style Enamelled Stem Bowl with Yellow and Red Grounds, Auspicious Rams, Butterflies and Floral Motifs

A stem bowl that hides two worlds: cool blue and white leafy sprays inside, and bright cloisonné-style enamels outside. Ming Dynasty, Chenghua period style.

The bowl's yellow ground is filled with flowers, butterflies and auspicious rams, below a blue ruyi-cloud border, while the tall stem is enamelled on a red ground with blossoms. In Chinese, "yang" (ram, 羊) sounds like "xiang" (祥, good fortune), and "die" (butterfly, 蝶) sounds like "die" (耋, long life), so the bowl wishes its owner luck and longevity.

This stem bowl combines underglaze-blue decoration with porcelain-body cloisonné-style enamelling. The interior is decorated in underglaze blue on a white ground with flowering daylily sprays, rendered in a rich, lustrous cobalt blue. The exterior features auspicious rams against alternating yellow and red grounds, accompanied by colourful butterflies and flowers of the four seasons. The cloisonné-style wirework is finely articulated, enclosing a vibrant palette of enamels. The rim is bordered with a blue-ground ruyi-cloud band, while the tall stem is finished in a rich aubergine-red ground and decorated with iron-red floral medallions.

The bowl has a wide, flaring mouth, sloping sides, and a tall, elegant stem, creating a striking and dignified silhouette. Its elaborate ornamentation and sophisticated combination of techniques reflect the opulent aesthetic of Chinese courtly display wares. The auspicious ram motif evokes sanyang kaitai (三阳开泰), signifying the arrival of spring, renewal, and prosperity, while the dancing butterflies and seasonal flowers convey vitality, beauty, and enduring good fortune.

The auspicious rams are rendered in an archaic, stylised manner, accompanied by flowers of the four seasons and scrolling foliage. The floral medallions arranged around the neck create a richly ornamented yet carefully balanced composition, reflecting the auspicious decorative vocabulary of Chinese court art.

The decoration is executed on a porcelain body using a cloisonné-style enamelling technique. Fine metallic wires delineate the contours of the motifs, with compartments filled with polychrome enamels. The resulting surface is distinguished by its rich, saturated colours and vivid brilliance, demonstrating the technical sophistication and sumptuous decorative character of porcelain-body cloisonné enamel.

The interior is decorated in underglaze blue on a white ground, with a floral medallion at the centre and five scrolling daylily sprays arranged around the inner wall. The interconnecting stems and foliage are rendered with lively, naturalistic detail, creating a harmonious and flowing composition. A pair of concentric blue lines encircles the rim. Daylily motifs were popular in Ming-dynasty courtly decoration, symbolising the dispelling of sorrow, well-being, and enduring happiness.

A six-character reign mark in underglaze blue, written in regular script (kaishu), is inscribed within the foot ring and read from right to left. The characters feature rounded, supple strokes and a spacious, well-balanced arrangement. The exposed porcelain body is pale yellowish-ivory, with natural age-related staining. The mark follows the standard reign-mark format associated with Chenghua-period Ming imperial porcelain.