Jingdezhen Blue & White Porcelain Bauble, 'Peony Vine'

Jingdezhen Blue & White Porcelain Bauble

Climbing vines of peonies, China's 'king of flowers' and a symbol of prosperity, wind around white porcelain in soft cobalt blue. Jingdezhen, in China's Jiangxi province, has been the country's porcelain capital for more than a thousand years. Its fine white clay (the word kaolin comes from nearby Gaoling village) and its imperial kilns made Chinese blue-and-white, qīnghuā, famous around the world: designs painted in cobalt beneath a clear glaze, then fired at high heat so the blue glows from within the porcelain. Hung on a navy satin ribbon.

• Country / Region: China
• Artisan: Jingdezhen porcelain workshop
• Material: Glazed porcelain, satin ribbon
• Dimensions: 6 cm diameter; ribbon 14 cm
• Weight: 10 g