This oval wine cup of ivory hue has a two-line inscription on one side. The first line reads ‘little ability to hold one’s liquor’ ('jiuliang xiao', 酒量小) followed by ‘Dong Wang’ (东王). The identity of Dong Wang is uncertain, but he could possibly be the one who wrote the inscription or even be the owner of this cup. This inscription could be interpreted as an indirect way of complimenting the user (who is not Dong Wang) a better drinker or it could refer to Dong Wang, who was being modest about his own drinking ability.Dehua, located on the southeast coast of Fujian province, is well known for its production of white porcelain, known to Europeans as 'blanc de Chine'. The earliest Dehua porcelain was produced as early as the 14th century but the production and quality of these porcelain peaked around the 17th and 18th centuries.
