A pair of doucai marriage bowls, the deep rounded sides painted on the exterior with three pairs of mandarin ducks in a lotus pond with blossoming lotus flowers beneath a frieze of five clawed rampant dragons in pursuit of the flaming pearl rendered in underglaze blue.  In the center of the interior is yet another pair of ducks and beneath the rim is a border of lanca characters On the bases in underglaze blue is the zhuanshu seal mark and period of the Daoguang Emperor.  The combination of the lotus and a pair of mandarin ducks forms the auspicious rebus, fu fu he he, which may be translated as 'harmony for the married couple', A Chinese-English Glossary and Illustrations of Antique, Woods, 1989, fig. 127.
清代 Qing Dynasty, 道光 Daoguang Period (1821-1850)
Height:  3" (7.6 cm)  Diameter: 6 1/2" (16.5 cm)
Condition:  Excellent. One bowl with a tight hairline crack from the rim and two small glaze pulls in the interior bottom.
Similar bowls can be found in the Simon Kwan Collection, Hong Kong; another from the Yangzhitang Collection
Please refer to item #DO-514 when inquiring.