A rare Chinese semi-eggshell famille rose 'rooster' tea cup and saucer, Baiyun Shanren 白雲山人 seal mark, Yongzheng

Dia.: 11,5 cm (the saucer)
Dia.: 7 cm - H.: 4 cm (the cup)

Condition: (UV-checked)
- The saucer in excellent condition.
- The cup with a reglued break and a hairline to the rim, only visible under the UV light.

品相：（已用紫外线光检查）
- 碟子全品。
- 杯子口沿一个破裂修复和一条冲线，但是只有在UV灯下可见。

A composite motif of a cockerel and peony represents wealth and success. The first character of the term cockerel in Chinese gong ji is a homophone of the first character of gong ming (official position), and the peony has long been associated with nobleness since the Tang dynasty.

Provenance:
- An important American private collection.

Ref.:
- The British Museum, inv. no. PDF A.835, for a set of twelve tea cups and saucers of the same design and measurements and with the same seals, where they are on display. (link)
- The Victoria & Albert Museum, accession no. C.1071 & A-1917, for a set which also bears a cyclical date Jiazhen corresponding to 1724, where it is on display. (link)

The artist name 'Baiyun Shanren' (Hermit of the White Cloud Mountain) was however mistaken by both museums as 'Baishi Shanren' (Hermit of the White Stone Mountain). Although the aliases 'Baishi' and 'Baiyun Jushi' are both related to one of the earliest and most famous Cantonese enamellers, Tang Jintang (active in the first half of the 18th C.), they can also have been produced by Tang Jintang's studio. For more about the career and style of Tang Jintang, see Gao Yang: 'A Pair of Canton Enamel Porcelain Masterpieces in the Rijksmuseum,' in Aziatische Kunst, October 2018, Vol. 48, No. 2, pp. 54-59.

- A. Varela Santos, Uma Coleccao Particular, Yongzheng, A Private Collection, Estoril, Portugal, 2005, pp.16-17, no. 2, for an example which was formerly in the W. Martin-Hurst Collection.
- Honey, A Guide to the Pottery and Porcelain of the Far East, Oxford, 1924, p. 90, fig. 128, illustrates a ruby-back saucer painted with a basket of flowers and fruit also in the British Museum. It is signed by the same artist and inscribed 'a Canton picture', indicating that indeed he was working in Guangzhou (Canton).