ONDERSTAANDE TEKST VOLGT OP INTRODUKTIE GETIKT VOORAFGAAND AAN LOT 531. DE INTRODUKTIE MOET VERPLAATST WORDEN NAAR HET VOORWERK.
THE TASTE SPREAD QUICKLY. "CHINA CLOSETS" MUCH BECAME A LADY OF FASHION. THEY WERE OFTEN ON A COMFORTABLE, COSY, SMALL SCALE, SUITABLE FOR ENTERTAINING A COTERIE OF FRIENDS FOR AN ELEGANT DISH OF TEA; A FASHIONABLE WITHDRAWING ROOM OR LADY'S BOUDOIR CAME OFTEN TO CONTAIN A CABINET OF PORCELAIN, OR A FEW SHELVES TASTEFULLY ARRANGED TO CONTRAST THE COLOURS OR SHAPES. LARGER ROOMS REQUIRED GREATER QUANTITIES. THERE WERE 800 PIECES IN THE MAIN ROOMS IN KENSINGTON PALACE IN THE 1680S; AND A GREAT PUBLIC 'PORZELLAN ZIMMER', IN A GERMAN COURT WITH SOCIAL PRETENSIONS IN THE PERIOD, COULD ABSORB THOUSANDS OF PIECES. THEY WERE CONVERSATION PIECES, FURNISHED AT RELATIVELY LOW COST, BECAUSE ANY NUMBER OF "CHINAMEN" OF INDIAMEN" NOW SPECIALISED IN EXOTIC IMPORTS FROM ANYWHERE EAST OF THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE; INDIAN CHINTZES, 'COROMANDEL' (CHINESE) LACQUER FOLDING SCREENS, JAPANESE CABINETS, JAVAN PEPPER, MOLUCCAN NUTMEG AND MACE, CHINESE TEA- AND ITS INEVITABLE COROLLARY, THIS TRANSLUCENT PORCELAIN.
"CHINAMANIA" TOOK DIFFERENT FORMS. 'BLUE AND WHITE' WAS MOST READILY AVAILABLE. IT LOOKED - AND STILL LOOKS! - SPLENDID AGAINST DARK WOODS, RICH TEXTILES, NEUTRAL PAINTED SURFACES. GLITTERING AT OR ABOVE EYE LEVEL, IN THE CANDLE OR FIRELIGHT BY WHICH ROOMS WERE PRIMARILY LIT FOR ENTERTAINING, IT WAS ESPECIALLY EFFECTIVE DISPLAYED IN FRONT OF REFLECTING MIRROR PANELS; SUCH AS SURVIVED BEHIND IN THE LATE 17TH CENTURY SHELVING IN THE QUEEN'S GALLERY, KENSINGTON PALACE, LONDON, ITSELF ORIGINALLY LAVISHLY ADORNED BY QUEEN MARY WITH ORIENTAL PORCELAIN. BUT WHITE WARES WERE POPULAR, TOO. A ROOM ENTIRELY PANELLED IN BLACK AND BROWN LACQUER, OR PAINTED IN BURGUNDY-RED, LOOKED SPECTACULAR WHEN DENSELY HUNG WITH SMALL GILTWOOD BRACKETS SUPPORTING WHITE PORCELAIN FIGURINES. EUROPEAN SHIPPING LISTS OF THE PERIOD RECORD THAT MUCH 'BLANC-DE-CHINE' PORCELAIN FOR JUST THIS PURPOSE WAS PURCHASED AT AMOY, THE MAIN COAST PORT IN FUJIAN PROVINCE, SOUTH-EAST CHINA, WHERE MOST WHITE EXPORT PORCELAIN WAS MANUFACTURED. JAPANESE 'KAKIEMON' (OVERGLAZE ENAMELLED) COLOURED WARES, MORE SO THAN CHINESE ONES, WERE ALSO POPULAR WITH DECORATORS. THEY TOO COULD BRING COLOURS AND LIGHTNESS TO A HEAVY ROOM, ARTFULLY DISPLAYED ON A WALNUT MARQUETRY DUTCH CABINET; OR SPACED OUT ALONG THE TOPS OF DOORWAYS OR FIREPLACES FACING THE NORMAL DIRECTION IN WHICH VISITORS "PROGRESSED", RECEDING INTO THE DISTANCE AS PART OF A FORMAL 'ENFILLADE' THROUGH THE PUBLIC ROOMS, THE 'PIANO NOBILE' OF A GREAT HOUSE. THE GREAT ADVANTAGE WAS THAT THE QUALITY, FINE QUALITY, BLUE, WHITE, GREEN, POLYCHROME, ALL THAT MATTERED WAS MAKING AN ARTFULLY-COMPOSED STATEMENT OF DECORATION. AS NINA CAMPBELL AND DAVID LINLEY HAVE SHOWN, IN THE HANDS OF A SKILLED DESIGNER THIS PORCELAIN CAN BE ARRANGED JUST AS STRIKINGLY, ATTRACTIVELY AND IN THE SPIRIT OF CONTEMPORARY TASTE TODAY, AS IT WAS WHEN IT INFLUENCED THE CREATIVE SPIRITS OF 'CHINAMANIACS' ALMOST EXACTLY THREE CENTURIES AGO.
A 15-MINUTE VIDEO HAS BEEN PREPARED BY CHRISTIE'S TO PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE SHIPWRECK AND THE PORCELAIN. IT INCLUDES UNDERWATER FOOTAGE FILMED IN VIETNAM, EXPLANATIONS OF THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT, AND INTERVIEWS WITH NINA CAMPBELL, DAVID LINLEY AND CHRISTIE'S EXPERTS. THE VIDEO CAN BE WATCHED AT ANY CHRISTIE'S OFFICE, FROM FEBRUARY 20, 1992. COPIES MAY BE OBTAINED FROM OUR PRESS OFFICES IN AMSTERDAM AND LONDON.
CHRISTIE'S ACKNOWLEDGES WITH GRATITUDE THE FOLLOWING ASSISTANCE:
STUDIO SETS INSTALLATION : NINA CAMPBELL LTD
LIBRARY TABLE: DAVIDE LINLEY FURNITURE LTD
VIDEO PREPARATION: TSBW FOR CHRISTIE'S
STUDIO SET PHOTOGRAPHY: STEPHEN HAYWARD, CHARLES SETTRINGTON, PHOTOGRAPHER
A SIMILAR BLUE AND WHITE FIVE-PIECE 'CANAL HOUSES' GARNITURE, CIRCA 1690
Details
A SIMILAR BLUE AND WHITE FIVE-PIECE 'CANAL HOUSES' GARNITURE, CIRCA 1690
33CM. HIGH (5)
33CM. HIGH (5)