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Lot Essay
This bottle comes from an extremely rare group of Kangxi Imperial-command snuff bottles made in the workshops in Beijing. It is thought that only thirteen of these Kangxi yuzhi bottles are known worldwide, two of which are in the J&J Collection. The introduction of European painted enamels on glass and metal into the Palace workshops created a radical impact on the use of enamels on porcelain throughout China. Towards the end of Emperor Kangxi's reign, the traditional Chinese palette of famille verte enamels was gradually expanded to reach its zenith. With the introduction of new enamels from Europe, colors which were previously unknown to the Chinese craftsmen became available, first to Guangzhou and Beijing, the two main centers for enameling on metal, then spreading rapidly to Jingdezhen, the great porcelain manufacturing centre of China. This new palette was called famille rose because of the ruby-red derived from gold oxide, but the most significant difference from the famille verte palette was in the new technique of mixing white enamel with other colored enamels to create a wider range of pastel shades, even though the white enamel itself was not new, having been used for several centuries in cloisonne enamels. At this stage during the late Kangxi and early Yongzheng periods, enamellers in China, whether working on metal, glass or porcelain, had the widest possible range of colors at their disposal.
In Beijing, where enameling only began with the new famille rose palette, the use of a combined rose verte palette on a single piece is extremely rare, with the present bottle being an example of this exceptional group. Here, the narrow side vignettes are painted entirely in the traditional verte palette, while the front and back panels are decorated in the new rose colors. It is also unusual that a plain white ground is used, as during this time, the tendency was for the backgrounds to be entirely covered with color.
Another Kangxi-marked snuff bottle, enameled with prunus blossoms on the main panels in a style very similar to the present example, is in the Beijing Palace Museum, illustrated in Snuff Bottle. The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Commercial Press, Hong Kong, 2003, pl. 127.
In Beijing, where enameling only began with the new famille rose palette, the use of a combined rose verte palette on a single piece is extremely rare, with the present bottle being an example of this exceptional group. Here, the narrow side vignettes are painted entirely in the traditional verte palette, while the front and back panels are decorated in the new rose colors. It is also unusual that a plain white ground is used, as during this time, the tendency was for the backgrounds to be entirely covered with color.
Another Kangxi-marked snuff bottle, enameled with prunus blossoms on the main panels in a style very similar to the present example, is in the Beijing Palace Museum, illustrated in Snuff Bottle. The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Commercial Press, Hong Kong, 2003, pl. 127.