A rare pale celadon ground famille-rose bottle vase, Seal mark and period of Qianlong | 清乾隆 粉青地粉彩纏枝花卉紋賞瓶 《大清乾隆年製》款

This elegant vase decorated with shades of pastel-toned enamels against a very pale celadon ground is a fine example of imperial porcelain wares produced during the early years of the Qianlong reign (1736-1795). Such jewel-coloured enamels are generally identified in China as yangcai, ‘foreign colours’, a term that refers to the ‘foreign’ origins of this new palette of enamel colours which were introduced by European craftsmen during the Kangxi reign (1662-1722). These ‘foreign’ craftsmen also brought Western designs, such as stylised and symmetrically arranged scrollwork, to the Qing court (1644-1911). Stylistically, the decoration of the present vase, which elegantly combines European decorative elements with Chinese motifs such as ruyi-heads, bats and stylised lotus, is representative of the early Qianlong period, when Tang Ying (1682-1756) was supervisor of the Jingdezhen manufactories and the Emperor sent very specific orders to the kilns. Compare the formalised style of flower scrolls on a smaller pair of yangcai vases, but with a yellow ground and compressed globular body, preserved in the National Palace Museum, Taipei (accession nos Gu-Ci-017077 and Gu-Ci-017078).

Although vessels with this formal flower decoration come with various coloured grounds in the Qianlong reign, the use of a high-fired celadon glaze rather than a low-fired enamel colour for the ground is rare. This special palette suggests that the present vase may have been created to an individual order rather than forming part of a larger series.

The shading on this vase is noticeably more delicate than the palette used later in the Qianlong reign, and its proportions, with a relatively high foot, are particularly well balanced. Compare, for example, a slightly smaller vase of related shape and design, but lacking the refinement of the present piece and inscribed with an iron-red reign mark, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Geng Baochang, ed., Gugong Bowuyuan cang gu taoci ciliao xuancui / Selection of Ancient Ceramic Material from the Palace Museum, Beijing, 2005, vol. 2, pl. 201. Pieces decorated in this way are in Chinese generally called fencai, literally ‘powder colours’.