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Stemcup with rounded bowl and flared rim on a hollow stem. Inside the stem the six-character mark of Zhengde. On the inside of the bowl a medallion with a Daoist figure in a landscape, in dark red outlines filled in with red and green, the rim with red bands and a yellow wash. On the exterior, in dark red outlines filled in with red, green, yellow, aubergine, and turquoise, children at play with a ball and musical instruments in an outdoor scene with a willow tree and a fence. Around the stem triangles linked by beaded chains, the foot with a border of cut pointed leaves.
The painting on this sizable stemcup is of exceptional quality. Scenes of playing children are related to the theme of One Hundred Children, a theme recurrent on Chinese art objects of all kinds. The subject expresses the wish for many children, sons in particular. As such it refers to fertility and consequently happiness. The painting is done in red outlines filled in with colours, a method widely used in the polychrome wares of the late 15th and early 16th century. It has been suggested that the imperial mark on this object has been partly painted over to disguise the fact that it was meant for the court in order to take it out of the country. The British Museum has a stemcup of similar size and shape painted in red, green and yellow only and dated to the Jiajing period (1522-1566). There are several Zhengde pieces with an obscured reign mark in museum collections, notably the Percival David Collection, the British Museum, and the Ardebil collection.
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