This pair of large baluster jars with domed lids were formed on a wheel, in two parts, as indicated by a join on the interior. After firing, the biscuit was covered with black enamel – famille noire – and the reserved decoration painted with famille verte enamels.

The white flowers and leaves reflect the very white colour of the clay, covered in a colourless glaze, creating a magnificent contrast with the black background. The body is covered with large, stylised pierced rocks, flowering peony trees, magnolias and hydrangeas rising from the earth, with sprouting grasses and narcissi.

Calouste Gulbenkian acquired the jars, in 1945, for 12,500 guineas, an exceptional amount for the period. The sale made the Daily Telegraph (13 July 1945) with an article recounting the ‘duel’ between Edward Smith, an employee of Christie’s auctioneers, who was acting for a private English collector, and Alfred de Pinna, who was Gulbenkian’s intermediary.