Dimensions: 1-1/2" H x 2-3/4" Dia Each The Chinese porcelain bowls are delicately potted in a simply deep vessel body, with rounded cavetto everted the steep sides, raised on a concave low foot base. The exterior decorated in doucai design, hand painted in cobalt blue drawing lines, filled with various soft colors, depicted magpie on flowering trees in a landscape. Mark on base, a six blue script -KaiShu- characters mark enclosed within double fine blue rings, YongZheng Reign Period of Great Qing. The "bird of joy" and of good omen, brings joy, often married bliss. Its call heralds good news or the arrival of a guest. "Two magpies" was pronounced the same as "two happiness's," so a painting of two magpies was a pictorial metaphor for double happiness and thus an appropriate subject for a painting to be given to someone to express congratulations, especially for a wedding.One can say "there is a happy bird (magpie) on the tip of the plum branch" as xi Shang mei shao which sounds exactly like saying xi Shang mei shao which means "happiness up to one's eyebrows". This expression means "very happy". See More