Porcelain cup and saucer set ‘Dragon and Phoenix’, marked Chenghua

Porcelain with overglaze decoration in Doucai enamels. The cup possesses a deep body and flared walls with a lobed profile, adorned with two slender openwork handles, and covered by a continuous scene of five-clawed dragons amidst flames, pearls and auspicious characters. The plate, circular and shallow, displays a decorative border of scrollwork and flowers encircling its rim. At its centre are arranged an ethereal-looking dragon and a phoenix. The base bears the blue seal mark ‘大明成化年制’.

Cup dimensions: 5.4 x 6.2 cm; Plate diameter: 14.7 cm