Jar with motif of women and children

“Five-colour porcelain” was decorated in underglaze cobalt blue and overglaze transparent enamels of four colours (green, yellow, purple and non-transparent iron-oxide red). The depicted motifs were more complex than those of its predecessor – blue and white porcelain – but we can often find figural scenes, such as those depicted in Chinese illustrated novels. Painters mastered even complicated landscape compositions that were also common in artefacts decorated in blue and white, and organically incorporated them into their figural scenes, like with this object.