Chinese mille-fleurs enameled porcelain bowls (pair)

Both finely potted bowls are covered with a lustrous clear glaze, then painted in a broad palette of overglaze enamels. The thousand flowers design, known in Chinese as jiacai (mingles colors), covers the entire exterior of each bowl from the foot to the rim. The flowers include lotus, peony, hydrangea, chrysanthemum and more. The small spaces between the leaves and blossoms are filled with gold enamel. The interior of each bowl is decorated with five bats (wufu) surrounding a shou medallion, all in iron-red and gold enamel. The footring is unglazed, exposing the fine white paste and the base is glazed and marked with the six-character Guangxu mark in regular script in iron-red. Both bowls are in good condition with only some minor wear to the gilt enamel on the mouth rims.

Height: 2 3/8 in.; Diameter: 4 ¾ in.