A VERY RARE DOUCAI AND FAMILLE ROSE BASIN
A VERY RARE DOUCAI AND FAMILLE ROSE BASIN
A VERY RARE DOUCAI AND FAMILLE ROSE BASIN
2 More
A VERY RARE DOUCAI AND FAMILLE ROSE BASIN

QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)

Details
A VERY RARE DOUCAI AND FAMILLE ROSE BASIN
QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)
The basin is well-potted with shallow and slightly rounded sides rising from a flat base to an everted rim. The interior is enamelled in doucai with a lotus flower medallion encircling four stylised Shou characters further enclosing a gilded Wan emblem, surrounded by a band of lotus scroll with each bloom centred by a Shou character. The same design is repeated on the cavetto, both sides of the rim and the exterior side, and interspersed with borders of ruyi clouds and alternating bats and Wan emblems. The base of the exterior is decorated in famille rose enamels with a lotus bloom in the centre encircled by two concentric bands of bats. The mouth rim, and selected Shou characters and Wan emblems are highlighted in gilt.
17 5/8 in. (45 cm.) diam.
Provenance
Sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 2 May 2005, lot 605

Brought to you by

Ruben Lien
Ruben Lien

Check the condition report or get in touch for additional information about this

If you wish to view the condition report of this lot, please sign in to your account.

Sign in
View condition report

Lot Essay

Famille rose enamels were first incorporated into the doucai palette during the Yongzheng period, their range of transparent, translucent and opaque colours, stand in strong contrast to the cobalt-blue contours, creating an unprecedented visual interplay both rich in colour and texture. During the Qianlong period, the production of doucai wares was taken to new heights, bringing more elaborate designs that required exceptionally high level of painting and enamelling. The present basin is a wonderful example that testifies to such technical dexterity and artistic sophistication. The outlines of the design had been meticulously painted in underglaze blue with a very complex but well-balanced composition, famille rose enamels were then painstakingly filled in with great precision, and the addition of gilt highlights, which was new to the doucai palette until this stage, further endows the colourful and much textured picture with resplendence.

No other examples of this exact design appears to have been published, but one unmarked basin decorated with the Eight Daoist Treasures in doucai and famille rose was sold in Sotheby's Hong Kong, 7 May 2002, lot 533, which is closely associated with the current example both in terms of its shape and decorative techniques.

More from Imperial Chinese Porcelain: Treasures from a Distinguished American Collection

View All
View All