THE ORMOLU CIRCA 1720, THE PORCELAIN TRANSITIONAL PERIOD, CIRCA 1650

Wucai, meaning ‘five colors,’ is a decorative technique that originated during the Ming Dynasty, reaching its peak under the reign of the Jiajing Emperor (1522-1566) and representing a major turning point in the development of Chinese polychrome porcelain. Despite its name, wucai is not strictly limited to five colors, but still most typically combines three main overglaze enamels—red, green and yellow—with underglaze blue and black outlining, on the white porcelain body. In contrast to the prized delicacy and softness of the slightly earlier doucai (‘joined colors’) palette, wucai is notable for its vibrant colors and bold, often comparatively free, style of painting. Wares in this palette were relatively uncommon in France in the eighteenth century, and highly valued for their bold colors and patterning. The present pair represent a fusion of seventeenth-century porcelain bodies, enriched with mounts from the French Régence period that would have epitomized contemporary interior fashion. The upper section of each body has been cut down (possibly after a damage in transit, but more likely simply to create a more marketable shape) but the overall effect is made complete again by the masterful designer of the mounts.

Wucai porcelain mounted in eighteenth-century ormolu appears somewhat infrequently on the auction market, with some notable recent examples including a single cache-pot from the Collection of Carroll Petrie & European Decorative Arts from the Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama, sold Christie’s, New York, 31 March 2016, lot 1201; and a pair of cache-pots sold Christie's, London, 6 July 2012, lot 70.