This cup is decorated in 'doucai' enamels shows butterflies fluttering about flowering plants. Doucai 斗彩, ‘fitted colours’, is used to describe porcelain that combines both underglaze blue and enamelled decorations. Cobalt blue pigment is used as an outline for the design on the ware. The ware is then glazed and fired before being coloured in with overglaze enamels, in shades such as red, green, yellow and purplish brown. The dish bears a six charcater reign mark of Chenghua on the reverse. The reign mark of Chenghua indicates a sign of Emperor Kangxi's appreciation of fine Chenghua porcelain as well as the high standards of Chinese porcelain set by the Ming emperor Chenghua. Although produced later during the Kangxi period, reign marks of an earlier period were often used on Qing imperial ceramics as an expression of respect for earlier Emperors and their innovative porcelain.
