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Doucai

China tradition · 5 examples · indicative market tier: $1M+ (trophy / museum grade)

Doucai (Chinese: 斗彩; Wade–Giles: tou-ts'ai) is a technique in painting Chinese porcelain, where parts of the design, and some outlines of the rest, are painted in underglaze blue, and the piece is then glazed and fired. The rest of the design is then added in overglaze enamels of different colours and the piece fired again at a lower temperature of about 850°C to 900°C. The style began in the 15th century under the Ming dynasty in the imperial factories at Jingdezhen, and its finest products come from a few years in the reign of the Chenghua Emperor, mostly small pieces like the famous Chicken Wikipedia →

Types & examples

Bowl
Bowl, 1723–35
Cleveland Museum of Art
Doucai 'Floral' Bowl
Doucai 'Floral' Bowl, Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Yongzheng regin mark (1723–1735)
Art Institute of Chicago
Pair of Cups
Pair of Cups, Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Yongzheng reign mark and period (1723–1735)
Art Institute of Chicago
Jar with Narcissus, Nandina Berries, Lingzhi Mushrooms, and Rocks
Jar with Narcissus, Nandina Berries, Lingzhi Mushrooms, and Rocks, Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Yongzheng reign mark and period (1723–1735)
Art Institute of Chicago
Pair of Teabowls with Bamboo
Pair of Teabowls with Bamboo, Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Yongzheng reign mark and period (1723–1735)
Art Institute of Chicago

Where to buy

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Each link opens a live, image-rich search for this craft on that marketplace. Listings rotate constantly; authenticate significant pieces independently — attribution quality varies widely outside museum collections.