Qing dynasty Qianlong iron red dragon Imari porcelain wine cup. Antique Chinese wine cup. Stylized dragon & shops flame pearl motif porcelain cup

This is an amazing Imari highly stylized dragon wine cup from the Qing dynasties fifth emperor Qianlong (1736-1795) in China.

Qianlong's era is considered to be the golden age of China. Qianlong's success was his ability to combine his Manchu warrior military style while adopting the the new Confucian principles of politics and culture. Under his rule, China was the wealthiest and most populous at shops 150,000,000, nation in the world. In addition to his military and political genius, Qianlong wrote more poetry than all the poets of the Tang Dynasty (The Golden Age of Poetry) combined at over 40,000 poems and 1300 pieces of prose. He was also an avid art collector and restorer of both Chinese and surrounding cultures of India, Europe and Japan. Qianlong was also the height of porcelain production in China with the most skilled artisans and painters coming out of this era.

This porcelain wine cup features both coral and blue colors. The stylized dragons chasing a flaming pearl symbolize the cyclic nature of life and death, birth and decay and its infinite nature. The dragon will always be chasing but never catch the flaming ball because once the ball is caught, there is no more reason to chase. Which is why any scientific discovery for eternal life will be the death of everyone, even the ancient Chinese knew this. The blue pattern on the bottom represents waves which symbolize the incomprehensible vastness of life while the top band features hexagons which are a sacred symbol for balance and harmony. So much meaning in one cup.

There is a hairline crack that comes to a V on the inside and outside of the cup (photos 9 & 10). The cup measures: 3x3.25 inches. There is a four syllable coral marking on the bottom which translated to Qianlong (year made ?).