Each cup is delicately potted with thin rounded sides rising to a slightly everted rim. Each is covered in a clear glaze, the sides finely incised in anhua technique with a frieze of flowers, Japanese box, stands (2).

Provenance: A Japanese private collection, acquired in the early 20th century. 

Note: The present cups with floral designs are rare among a small group of Kangxi anhua-decorated wine cups. A few examples with a dragon pattern are recorded, including a pair sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 20 March 1990, lot 597; another pair from the T.Y. Chao collection sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 19 May 1987, lot 280; as well as a single cup from the Hall Family Collection at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 2 May 2000, lot 521.

Compare to 'month' cups with a similarly thin eggshell body, and of comparable shape and size decorated with different flowers representing each month of the lunar calendar, in underglaze-blue or famille verte. A complete set of famille verte 'month' cups for all twelve months is in the Qing Court Collection, see Porcelains in Polychrome and Contrasting Colours, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 140.