Precocious Boy' Peking Glass Vase with Mark

Possibly 19th Century

The glass of milky white hue, with everted rim, the waisted neck with overlapping leaf border, the ovoid body depicting a scene of Jia Chang stamping his foot to call the cockrel, within a grassy setting surrounded by large iron-red and famille rose peony blossoms, the emperor, Xuanzong in the distance, observing him. The base with blue enamel four-character Qianlong seal mark.

H. 8 1/4 in.

Note: Jia Chang was a child prodigy who was skilled in training fighting cockerels. Jia Chang was so talented that the Tang dynasty ruler, the Emperor Xuanzong employed him to train his Imperial fighting cockerels when he was only 13 years of age. In early Chinese literature, exemplary children are most often precocious children, their births are often marked by the appearance of miraculous signs. This motif is almost as old as Chinese literature itself. The earliest example of this theme is found in the Book of Odes. The rooster depicted on the vase represents the characteristics of self-respect, knowledge and seldom relying on others. It's believed that before it was domesticated by people, the rooster belonged to the same family as the phoenix.