Conical coffee pot on footring, wide mouthrim. High domed lid with protruding rim and pointed knob. Curved spout, the tip in the shape of a bird’s head. An ear-shaped scalloped handle opposite the spout. Famille rose, decorated in various enamel colours and gold with a garden landscape, a phoenix on a rock by a fence, a large fungus (lingzhi) and various flowering plants with another phoenix on a branch. Around the mouthrim and cover-ring a band with diamond-work, around the foot two bands with striped triangles and stylised ruyi motifs. Their shape and position suggest that the spout and ear are aligned to form a bird-like figure; a right-angled handle would not achieve this effect. Many different enamel colours have been used without the pink dominating{}. The painting is not refined, an indication of a relatively late dating. Note that different flowers grow from the same stem, a common device even in natural representations such as this. A very similar pot in the Royal Museums of Art and History in Brussels is part of a large dinner service (Jörg). Ewers with a spout ending in an animal’s head are part of the traditional Chinese assortment and are frequently encountered on ...