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Cultural Context

used for flower container or as household decoration

Description

Famille rose style porcelain vase. Against a white background are painted peonies in blue-purple, red-purple, orange-red and yellow; leaves are in light or dark green. The lip and the bottom part of the vase are adorned by heart-shaped and geometric patterns. Its underside bears a four character Ch'ien-lung seal.

Narrative

Said to have been collected by missionaries George and Jane Piercy during their time in China, c. 1853-1882.

History Of Use

This work belongs to the group of Chinese porcelains known as "famille rose", and known in China as fencai (粉彩) or ruancai (軟彩 / 软彩), literally meaning “soft colours” or “pale colours,” and later called yangcai (洋彩) or “foreign colours.” This type of ware was first introduced in the late Kangxi period (1662–1722), possibly around 1720, and were originally painted mostly in rose/pink colours. Many of these colourfully enameled wares were made for export, and their production continued into the twentieth century.
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 is the case with this vase. The reign marks from earlier dynasties were often added to later wares, not necessarily as fakes or reproductions, but out of respect for these earlier periods. Most marks comprise four or six Chinese characters written vertically. The mark on this vase reads 乾隆年製 (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, 乾隆 refer to the name of the Emperor/reign, and the two on the left, 年製, “made for/during.” This reign mark is still used on porcelain today, usually as a part of the decoration. In particular, its use was commonly adopted in Hong Kong in the 1960s and 1970s. Omitting the two characters, 大清 (“Great Qing” Dynasty) is a common feature of marks that are not from the actual period.