A CHINESE FAMILLE VERTE ‘THREE FRIENDS OF WINTER’ YEN YEN VASE

A CHINESE FAMILLE VERTE ‘THREE FRIENDS OF WINTER’ YEN YEN VASE
Please note the dating should read 19^th Century.

Painted with yellow, black and green grumpy-looking magpies perched on a gnarled prunus tree trunk, with peony and bamboo, beneath pine trees, chrysanthemum and with four smaller magpies in flight, with iron-red geometric bands to the rim, shoulder and foot, 45.5cm.

Provenance: Field Marshal Earl Kitchener of Khartoum (1850-1916), and thence by descent through the family.

Magpies are always auspicious symbols, the birds of good fortune and love. The first character for the name of the bird, xi que, has the same sound as xi, 'happiness'. Magpies are also a symbol for the wish for a happy marriage, success at examinations and for getting rich.

清康熙 五彩喜上眉梢鳳尾尊
來源：霍雷肖•赫伯特•基奇納元帥（1850-1916），之後由其後人繼承。