A pair of large Chinese blue and white porcelain lidded jars
Each inscribed with a poem.
height 16 1/2in (42cm); diameter 11in (28cm)
Footnote:
Both bear the same poem by Du Fu (712-770 AD)

From an Upper Story

Flowers, as high as my window now
only bring pain to the heart of this wanderer,
for I can sense from up here, high above it all,
the sadness that now spreads everywhere
down below.

The Silken River flows bright with spring,
as if between the heavens and earth as
a long line of cloud passing quietly by the tall Jade Peak,
meandering between ancient times and the present.

Order has been re-established for some time now
and appears as firm as the North Star.
Bandits still dare not venture from their western hills.
Yet still the twilight remains dense with sadness and pity
for the woes of the long vanished Emperor.

I sing this song for him now as if he were
still there on the mountain top

Evidence of damage and restoration on one of the jars; losses and cracks to the one lid. General marks, scratches, rubbing and wear. Not examined under UV light. Possible further restorations.