The square brushpot with the corners cut off resting on four little foot decorated with keyfret. Two of the big sides adorned with birds among flowers, the two others with deers in rocky landscape. The big sides are alternated with little sides painted with stylized chilong and flower scrolls on a dense dotted background. The enamels are painted with high quality and delicacy. 

“Famille verte” enamels originate in wucai style (五彩 “five colours”), very popular under Ming dynasty and Transitional period. The name “famille verte” comes from the book about ceramics by Albert Jacquemart in the second half of 19th century. Nowadays, this term is used in the West to classify this type of porcelain. 

“Famille verte” uses overglaze blue enamel (instead of underglaze cobalt blue in the wucai style) with differents shades of green, yellow, aubergine, iron red and black. Under the lead of Zhang Yingxuan, appointed at the head of Jingdezhen manufacture in 1683, crafstmen develop a new smooth and shiny glaze and also a whiter and purer porcelain paste. The success of the type of decoration on porcelain is also stimulated by the interest of emperor Kangxi.