Emperor Kangxi - Monthly Flower Cups
Auction Price: USD18-20 million (2020). Set of wine/tea cups with flowers of the 12 lunar months - Made in Jingdezhen imperial kiln, Emperor Kangxi, Qing Dynasty.
Set of Wine/Tea Cups with Flowers of the Twelve Months - It is worthy of note that two distinct versions coexisted in the Twelve-Month Flower God Cups of underglaze blue and overglaze enamels from the Kangxi imperial kiln; among the merely 8+ surviving sets, the one we present herein is the old collection of The Palace Museum, Beijing, which bears slight discrepancies from the set cherished by The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) in New York. The primary differences lie in the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth lunar months: those of The Palace Museum are cotton rose hibiscus, Chinese rose, and plum blossom respectively, while the corresponding months in The Met’s set are Chinese rose, plum blossom, and narcissus.
The First Month: Winter Jasmine
The Second Month: Apricot Blossom
The Third Month: Peach Blossom
Since the Chinese lunar calendar differs from the Western solar calendar, we may only use the ordinal number of each month for replacement.
Set of Wine/Tea Cups with Flowers of the Twelve Months
The Fourth Month: Tree Peony
The Fifth Month: Pomegranate Blossom
The Sixth Month: Lotus
Since the Chinese lunar calendar differs from the Western solar calendar, we may only use the ordinal number of each month for replacement.
Set of Wine/Tea Cups with Flowers of the Twelve Months
The Seventh Month: Chinese Orchid
The Eighth Month: Sweet Osmanthus
The Ninth Month: Chrysanthemum
Since the Chinese lunar calendar differs from the Western solar calendar, we may only use the ordinal number of each month for replacement.
Set of Wine/Tea Cups with Flowers of the Twelve Months
The Tenth Month: Cotton Rose Hibiscus
The Eleventh Month: Chinese Rose
The Twelfth Month: Plum Blossom
Since the Chinese lunar calendar differs from the Western solar calendar, we may only use the ordinal number of each month for replacement.
