Vase with Deer in a Landscape

The body of this vase is painted with 10 deer in a continuous landscape with an ancient pine tree. Smaller trees, gnarled blue rocks, and a distant lake complete the scene. The painting is notable for the subtle combination of underglaze blue and copper red pigments, which give the impression of gray in two of the deer and a pinkish color in the trunk of the pine tree. This unusual technique demonstrates both the virtuosity of the painter and the skill of the kiln master, who needed to perfectly control the firing to achieve the difficult copper red color.