Antique Chinese Porcelain Kangxi-Yongzheng Porcelain Dish Cuckoo in the House

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Condition Report: small chip with line from rim and some rimfritting. Size 22.3x3CM Diameterxheight

Very nicely painted dish with Cuckoo in the house
Period: Kangxi⁠-Yongzheng
Country of origin: China⁠

The lower half of the design is well known in Holland as the “cuckoo in the house”. This design, the origin of which has never been fully explained, shows a small house and a separate tall chimney (on which occasionally sits a monkey) while two partridge-like birds fly in the sky. They are numbers of variations and the popularity of the design ensured its reordering over a considerable period.

“The Chinese porcelain decoration known as “cuckoo in the house” features a bird perched inside a window, along with other elements such as a garden with peony flowers, banana trees, a garden stone and in the sky one of two large birds, possibly phoenixes.

The name “cuckoo in the house” is not a direct translation from Chinese, but is an older name previously used in the antiques trade to describe this particular porcelain decoration. The name is believed to refer to the bird in flight returning to its house only to find another uninvited bird that has taken over. This term comes from the practice of cuckoos taking over the nests of other birds.

More recently, the name “cuckoo in the house” has been used to describe a different porcelain decoration featuring two birds sitting on an altar or assemblage of poles and pyramids surrounding a building under leafy sprays or branches. However, this usage of the name is incorrect and may have resulted from confusion or misattribution.”

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