Vase with Bird and Flower Design

This vase with broad shoulders and a tall neck represents a typical style of 19th-century blue-and-white porcelain. Unlike earlier examples decorated mainly with literati themes that evoke neo-Confucian moral values—plum blossoms (purity), orchids (grace), bamboo (integrity), and chrysanthemums (loftiness)—porcelain works of the 1800s feature fully bloomed peonies and a pair of playful birds, symbols of wealth and familial harmony.