Cloisonné — the technique of dividing enamel colours with fine metal wire — originated in the ancient Near East and reached its most refined expression in imperial Chinese workshops of the Ming dynasty, where birds among flowering branches became one of its defining subjects. This piece continues that tradition: porcelain, hand-painted, 52cm, the azure ground interrupted by the same motifs that once decorated objects made exclusively for the emperor's household. Gold rims at the base and lip. A piece that carries its own context into whatever room it enters.