Vase depicting immortals and dancing crane

Birds and Flowers of the Song through Yuan Dynasties, 960–1368

The Song-dynasty emperor Huizong (reigned 1101–1125) fostered the bird-and-flower genre of painting to a degree no one had before or, indeed, has since. The approach to representing flowers during the Song dynasty was one of studied elegance. Emphasis was upon naturalistic shapes and precise, realistic depiction of scenes found in nature.

Bird-and-flower themes were often featured in hand-sculpted and incised decoration, with careful attention paid to subtle colors and uniformity of design. Certain birds were always paired with certain flowers as they occur in nature. Encouraged by the contemporary vogue for keeping flowers in pots, artisans also created ceramic flowerpots. These works underscore the importance in Song ceramics not only of scenic representations but also of objects for practical use.