Two similar bowls on footring, octagonal lobed spreading sides, lobed rim. Decorated in underglaze blue with a figure and an inscription in each of the eight panels. Around the foot a band of lotus-petal motifs. Around the inside of the rim ruyi motifs on a diaper pattern ground. Inside on the base a sitting figure in a landscape. On the base the six-character mark Kangxi in a double circle.
Both of these very rare, richly decorated bowls have representations of the ‘Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup’ of the Tang dynasty. Each figure is accompanied by a poem by the famous Tang poet Du Fu (712-770), who can be considered the ninth ‘Immortal’. The following eight drunkards are represented, accompanied by the poems: He Zhizhang (659-744), official, poet and calligrapher. The poem reads: ‘Zhizang rides his horse as if travelling by barge. A flower drops into a well and Zhizang falls asleep’. The Prince of Ruyang, the oldest son of Emperor Xuanzong. ‘After three cups Ruyang begins his tour of duty to Heaven. Dribbling at every turn of the cart on the road, yet firmly, without wavering, he keeps an eye on the source of the wine’. Li Shizhi, in 742 the First Minister on the Left-hand Side. ‘The Prime Minister loves spending a fortune on daily basis. He drinks like a whale swallowing a hundred rivers. This blithe sage with his wine cup is named "Avoider of the Virtuous"’. Cui Zonghi, Duke of Qi. ‘Zongzhi full of wine: a handsome youth! He raises the goblet and turns his bright eye toward the blue sky, clear as a jade tree confronting the wind’. Su Jin, an official of the Imperial Court in the first quarter of the 8th century. ‘Su Jin held a long fast, embroidering before the Buddha. Time and again he wished to flee worshipping in his cups’. Li Bai (701-762), the most famous poet of the Tang dynasty: ‘Li Bai could write 100 poems on 1 beaker. In Chang’an City he once fell asleep during a pub-crawl. The Son of Heaven called him, but Li Bai would not board. He styled himself "Yours truly, the immortal in the wine"’. Zhang Xu, the most famous calligrapher from the Tang dynasty: ‘After three cups Zhang Xu hand-writes a biography of the Sage. He may appear bareheaded in front of Dukes and Princes, yet his dancing brush will make his writing look like clouds’. Jiaosui, a man of humble descent from western China: ‘Only after five cups would Jiaosui stand up and frighten all around with vehement debate’. The figure inside on the base could be Du Fu, the poet himself, who can be considered the ninth drunkard. A comparable bowl does not seem to be mentioned in the literature.