Vase Item Number: 3588/3 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
Famille noire, tall vase decorated with pink blossoms and peaches on a black background. Vase has a slightly flared lip and long neck that curves outward into a rounded body; base is flat with a small raised foot. Entirety of vase is covered in flowering branches with leaf offshoots, a variety of flowers in shades of pink, and nine peaches. Red seal stamped at centre of base.
Famille Noire style vase. Marks found on the base of Chinese porcelain commonly display the dynasty and the reign. However, it is said when it comes to Chinese reign marks, most of them are not from the period they say, as the case with this vase. Reign marks from earlier dynasties were often added to later wares, not necessarily as fakes or reproductions, but out of a respect for these earlier periods. Most marks comprise four or six Chinese characters written vertically. The mark on this vase reads 大清乾隆年製 (Da Qing Qianlong Nian Zhi) and refers to “made during the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty” (1735-1796). The Chinese characters on the mark are done in seal script; thus, the mark looks more like an engraving rather than hand writing. The first two characters on the right, 大清refer to the “Great Qing” Dynasty, the following two in the middle, 乾隆 refer to the name of the Emperor/reign, and the last two on the left, 年製, “made for/during.”
Purchased by the donors from an oriental furniture shop in Palm Desert, California (date unknown).