One of a pair of eggshell porcelain bowls

Intricately hand-painted porcelain bowls like these are thinned in a shaving process that results in vessel walls so slender and delicate they are practically translucent when held to the light. Although the bowls’ bases bear a Qianlong period (1735–1795) reign mark, they are likely early 20th-century homages. It is not uncommon in Chinese art to see earlier marks on later pieces in veneration of the past.

(2015)