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Lot Essay
The dense arrangement of various flowers that decorates this bowl is known as wanhuajin (myriad flower brocade), as well as baihuadi (ground of one hundred flowers), and, according to T. T. Bartholomew in Hidden Meanings in Chinese Art, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, 2006, p. 146, during the Qing dynasty the design conveyed the hope that the Qing dynasty "would last as long as flowers continue to bloom."
The design, in a somewhat paler famille rose palette, and in a slightly more open format where white background is visible between the flowers and leaves, and without iron-red, first appears during the Yongzheng period (1723-1735), as represented by a small bowl in the Qing Court collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 39 - Porcelains with Cloisonne Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration, Hong Kong, 1999, p. 18, no. 15. During the Qianlong period a variation of this design appeared, with the design becoming more dense, allowing no visible white space between the flowers and leaves. The famille rose palette also became richer and with more realistic shading of the enamels, as well as with the addition of iron red. This version of the pattern is well represented by a large Qianlong-marked vase in the Musee Guimet, illustrated by Beurdeley and Raindre, ibid., pp. 118-19, pls. 164 and 165.
Compare to a very similar Jiaqing-marked millefluers bowl of slightly larger size (13 cm.), bearing an underglaze-blue reign mark which differs from the iron-red mark on the current example, sold at Christie’s New York, 17 September 2015, lot 2073.
The design, in a somewhat paler famille rose palette, and in a slightly more open format where white background is visible between the flowers and leaves, and without iron-red, first appears during the Yongzheng period (1723-1735), as represented by a small bowl in the Qing Court collection, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum - 39 - Porcelains with Cloisonne Enamel Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration, Hong Kong, 1999, p. 18, no. 15. During the Qianlong period a variation of this design appeared, with the design becoming more dense, allowing no visible white space between the flowers and leaves. The famille rose palette also became richer and with more realistic shading of the enamels, as well as with the addition of iron red. This version of the pattern is well represented by a large Qianlong-marked vase in the Musee Guimet, illustrated by Beurdeley and Raindre, ibid., pp. 118-19, pls. 164 and 165.
Compare to a very similar Jiaqing-marked millefluers bowl of slightly larger size (13 cm.), bearing an underglaze-blue reign mark which differs from the iron-red mark on the current example, sold at Christie’s New York, 17 September 2015, lot 2073.