Blue and White Mythical Scroll Pot with Deer

Beautiful to behold yet liable to dart away at any moment, the deer is an apt symbol of wealth and prosperity. On this scroll pot, the artist used rapid and free-flowing brushwork to depict a spirited deer in a fanciful forest setting surrounded by peacock feathers. Looser in its approach than traditional blue-and-white porcelain, this whimsical bowl nonetheless evokes the past through characters drawn along the rim, resembling those found on Ming-dynasty vases.