A Fine and Rare Painted Enamel 'European Subject' Plaque Qing Dynasty, Qianlong Period

of rectangular form, finely and delicately painted after Teniers, depicting a scene of European men drinking, paying cards and smoking clay pipes around a table, with one man raising his wine glass and turned to embrace a lady holding a pitcher in her hand beside a dog, all set in a river landscape, framed and glazed

Collection of Hermann von Mandl, Vienna.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 16th/17th May 1989, lot 431.

This finely painted plaque is in genrally good condition, but on examination (through the framed glass) there appears to be two touched up (turquoise) cracks running from the lower centre edge, running through the right side of the table to the hat of the central seated figure and through the right leg of the right hand sitter respectively (5cm and 2cm). There is also an area touching up to the ground below the right leg of the table. There is some surface scratches to the ground area and slight wear to the enamel to the lower central edge.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

After the work of Flemish artist David Teniers the Younger (1610-90) with a scene of a merry drinking party, this small plaque is exceptional for the quality of the painting and fine workmanship attributed to Guangzhou artists employed to produce tribute items for the Qing court. Careful attention has been paid to the smallest detail, facial expressions and gentle shadowing that display a strong Western decorative influence.  In its painting style it is reminiscent of the work seen on larger Canton enamel panels with European subject matters, such as the one depicting a group of musicians playing on a veranda by a lake-side to a seated lady and gentleman, formerly on loan at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and included in the exhibition Europe und die Kaiser von China, Berliner Festspiele, Berlin, 1985, cat. no. 7/25, and later sold in these rooms, 30th October 1987, lot 375 (fig.1). Another large panel belonging to this group is painted with Western ladies on a promenade surrounded by neo-classical buildings, from the collection of Mrs. J. Clifford Roscoe, Yorkshire, and sold in these rooms, 21st November 1961, lot 14, included in R. Soame Jenyns, Chinese Art. The Minor Arts, Fribourg, 1963, pl. 112. Jenyns, ibid., p. 244, notes that the panel must have been made for the European market, or for the European rooms of the Yuanmingyuan, the Old Summer Palace, destroyed by fire in 1860.

Compare also a Canton enamel plaque decorated with Western figures in landscape, from the collection of Hermann von Mandl of Vienna, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 30th October 2002, lot 206 (fig.2); and another panel with a comparable composition, perhaps the work of the same artist, included in the exhibition Chinese Painted Enamels, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 1978, cat. no. 118, and sold in our Monte Carlo rooms, 23rd June 1986, lot 1169. Two pairs of small enamel plaques with Europeans depicted in a landscape setting, from the Estate of Elizabeth Halsey Dock, were offered in our New York rooms, 1st June 1993, lots 128 and 129 (fig.3). These plaques were also included in the exhibition Chinese Export Porcelain and Enamels, Wilmington Society of Fine Arts, Wilmington, 1957, cat. nos. 286-297.

The technique of enamelling on metal was introduced to artists in Guangzhou by Jesuit missionaries around 1684.  These artists had been most immediately exposed to wares from Europe and had mastered the technical skills of enamel painting on metal earlier than those working in the Palace Workshop in Beijing. From a court memorial endorsed by the Kangxi Emperor and dated to the 55th year of his reign (1716) it is known that the Viceroy of Guangdong and Guangxi sent two artisans from Guangzhou to Beijing at that time to serve in the Palace Enamel Workshop. See Yang Boda, Tributes from Guangdong to the Ch’ing Court, Hong Kong, 1987, p. 63. Kangxi’s grand-son, the Qianlong Emperor, was also known to recruit enamel artists from Guangzhou. 

The manufacturing process of painting with enamels on metal begins with the coating of the metal object with a white ‘glaze’ similar to that used on porcelain. This is fired at low temperature, which helps to secure the enamel to the metal body.  Decorators then apply the design in coloured enamels and the piece is fired again at low temperature. The final stage is the gilding of the rims where the copper is exposed, for example, at the mouth and the foot of a vessel. The enamel pigment used is called yangcai or ‘foreign enamel’ as it was initially imported from Europe. Domestic production of yangcai started from around 1728, with the creation of the most important colour, opaque white enamel. White was essential for the artist to create pastel shades necessary for painting, especially landscapes, flora and fauna, and for achieving successful shading. By Qianlong’s reign, the craft of enamelling on metal had reached perfection with forms and designs often reflecting the emperor’s extravagant and lavish taste. Exceptionally high standards were reached, and this art-form continued receiving the emperor’s foremost interest and patronage.