{"data":{"id":42566,"api_model":"artworks","api_link":"https:\/\/api.artic.edu\/api\/v1\/artworks\/42566","is_boosted":true,"title":"Pair of Cups","alt_titles":null,"thumbnail":{"lqip":"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhCQAFAPUAAEdHSF5cXW1yZnV3eHSPfn6QgIGKgoyPjIqRh5GQkJaZlZecmp2cnZydnp2dnp+ijp2gnp2kn6Sknq+2naKhoaOjo6SnoqWkpaWlpaampqurq62rrbCurLy9qrKysLCxsrSzs7GxtbW1tbe5t7a6tra\/t7+5sLrBusLGwMLHxcnIwsjUzgAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACH5BAAAAAAALAAAAAAJAAUAAAYqwMwm9BGBOB4NqdRRNSCo0whBmBwAhlXKlFhEBgFB4SGpXBiUikNhwQQBADs=","width":3000,"height":1658,"alt_text":"Small white porcelain cups with circular patterns and no handles."},"main_reference_number":"1941.701a-b","has_not_been_viewed_much":false,"boost_rank":null,"date_start":1723,"date_end":1735,"date_display":"Qing dynasty (1644\u20131911), Yongzheng reign mark and period (1723\u20131735)","date_qualifier_title":"","date_qualifier_id":null,"artist_display":"China","place_of_origin":"China","description":"<p>The emperors of China\u2019s last dynasty, the Qing, were enamored of exquisitely decorative objects and recruited remarkable craftsmen to serve their court. During his brief reign, the Yongzheng emperor, himself an artist and astute connoisseur, took a personal role in overseeing the imperial kilns. In their elegance and technical sophistication, these extraordinarily thin cups exemplify his exacting standards. Their floral medallions were delicately outlined in pale cobalt blue and, after glazing and firing, filled with soft, translucent enamels. So perfectly do these enamels fill the outlines that this technique is known as <em>doucai<\/em> (joined or dovetailed colors). Although quite different from the naturalistic floral motifs that characterize many Qing imperial porcelains, these medallions are also seen in rare examples of exquisite Yongzheng ware in the Palace Museum in Beijing. Their style may reflect the influence of Japanese lacquers, which were imported into China in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and subsequently inspired creative copies by Chinese palace craftsmen. The Yongzheng emperor was renowned for having encouraged innovative and sometimes foreign-inspired design in ceramics as well as other decorative arts.<\/p>\n","short_description":"Among the Qing emperors, the Yongzheng emperor particularly valued decorative objects and personally oversaw the imperial kilns, setting exacting standards. These thin cups are a testament to his precise tastes. Delicate cobalt blue floral medallions filled with translucent enamels showcase the <em>doucai<\/em> technique. Different from typical Qing porcelains, these were perhaps influenced by Japanese lacquers imported in the 16th and 17th centuries.","dimensions":"A: h. 5.7 cm (2 1\/4 in.)\ndiam. 10.2 cm (4 in.)\n B: h.5.7 cm (2 1\/4 in.)\ndiam.10.0 cm (3 15\/16 in.)","dimensions_detail":[],"medium_display":"Porcelain painted in underglaze blue and overglaze enamels (doucai)","inscriptions":"Inscribed on base in underglaze cobalt blue with 6-charater reign mark in regular script: \"Da Qing Yongzheng nian zhi.\"","credit_line":"Bequest of Henry C. Schwab","catalogue_display":null,"publication_history":"May, Sally Ruth, ed. The Art Institute of Chicago - The Essential Guide, Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1993, p. 71. \n\n James N. Wood, \"The Art Institute of Chicago: The Essential Guide, Revised Edition\" (Art Institute of Chicago, 2003), p. 71\n\nArt Insitute of Chicago: Essential Guide, rev. ed. (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 2009) p.86","exhibition_history":null,"provenance_text":"Henry Charles Schwab (1867-1941), Chicago; bequeathed to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1941.","edition":null,"publishing_verification_level":"Web Cataloged","internal_department_id":8,"fiscal_year":1941,"fiscal_year_deaccession":null,"is_public_domain":true,"is_zoomable":true,"max_zoom_window_size":-1,"copyright_notice":null,"has_multimedia_resources":true,"has_educational_resources":false,"has_advanced_imaging":false,"colorfulness":24.4911,"color":{"h":58,"l":49,"s":21,"percentage":0.03792912090989161,"population":149},"latitude":41.879275450893,"longitude":-87.623261399567,"latlon":"41.879275450893,-87.623261399567","is_on_view":true,"on_loan_display":null,"gallery_title":"Gallery 134","gallery_id":2147478117,"nomisma_id":null,"artwork_type_title":"Vessel","artwork_type_id":23,"department_title":"Arts of Asia","department_id":"PC-7","artist_id":null,"artist_title":null,"alt_artist_ids":[],"artist_ids":[],"artist_titles":[],"category_ids":["PC-7","PC-831"],"category_titles":["Arts of Asia","Essentials"],"term_titles":["drinking vessel","porcelain","floral","underglazing","Chinese (culture or style)","porcelain","asian art","ceramics","plant-derived motif","qing","overglazing","yongzheng","blue (color)","decorative arts"],"style_id":"TM-4303","style_title":"Chinese (culture or style)","alt_style_ids":["TM-5086","TM-5135"],"style_ids":["TM-4303","TM-5086","TM-5135"],"style_titles":["Chinese (culture or style)","qing","yongzheng"],"classification_id":"TM-11734","classification_title":"drinking vessel","alt_classification_ids":["TM-38","TM-26","TM-46","TM-1678"],"classification_ids":["TM-11734","TM-38","TM-26","TM-46","TM-1678"],"classification_titles":["drinking vessel","porcelain","asian art","ceramics","decorative arts"],"subject_id":"TM-12217","alt_subject_ids":["TM-11839","TM-11843"],"subject_ids":["TM-12217","TM-11839","TM-11843"],"subject_titles":["floral","plant-derived motif","blue (color)"],"material_id":"TM-2448","alt_material_ids":[],"material_ids":["TM-2448"],"material_titles":["porcelain"],"technique_id":"TM-4197","alt_technique_ids":["TM-4198"],"technique_ids":["TM-4197","TM-4198"],"technique_titles":["underglazing","overglazing"],"theme_titles":["Essentials"],"image_id":"568b87d2-25f6-c63b-e8c3-6920bf1b75be","alt_image_ids":[],"document_ids":["e0de9344-39f6-1e25-7506-05f8c88e42db"],"sound_ids":["e0de9344-39f6-1e25-7506-05f8c88e42db"],"video_ids":[],"text_ids":[],"section_ids":[],"section_titles":[],"site_ids":[],"suggest_autocomplete_boosted":"Pair of Cups","suggest_autocomplete_all":[{"input":["1941.701a-b"],"contexts":{"groupings":["accession"]}},{"input":["Pair of Cups"],"weight":373,"contexts":{"groupings":["title"]}}],"source_updated_at":"2026-06-18T11:42:47-05:00","updated_at":"2026-08-27T15:11:39-05:00","timestamp":"2026-09-17T16:42:52-05:00"},"info":{"license_text":"The `description` field in this response is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Generic License (CC-By) and the Terms and Conditions of artic.edu. All other data in this response is licensed under a Creative Commons Zero (CC0) 1.0 designation and the Terms and Conditions of artic.edu.","license_links":["https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/publicdomain\/zero\/1.0\/","https:\/\/www.artic.edu\/terms"],"version":"1.15"},"config":{"iiif_url":"https:\/\/www.artic.edu\/iiif\/2","website_url":"http:\/\/www.artic.edu"}}