Kangxi blue and white Yen Yen or Phoenix Tail Vase

Kangxi blue and white impressive porcelain Yen Yen. Painted in under glaze bright blue to show mythical birds and beasts crossings mountains and water. The colour and painting is of the highest standard and shows great technique

The vase is very straight and the potting is excellent.

The scene is from the classic of the Mountains and Seas, Shanhai jing. A mythical classic written in the Late Zhou or Western Han period (third to first century BC). It is a tale of the beasts crossing mountains and sea which is a fanciful, geographical and cultural account including the descriptions of more than 200 mythical beasts, birds and figures.

The book was re-discovered during the reign of the Ming Emperor Cheng Hua(1465 -1487). It was firm favourite of the dynasty and the Qing Emperors.