QIANLONG SEAL MARK IN BLUE ENAMEL AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-1795)

Painted enamels were first imported from Europe in the Kangxi Emperor's reign, and by Qianlong's reign, the Chinese painters had mastered the techniques of producing fine enamel work. Under Qianlong, the artists in the Imperial workshops attained even higher standards in the production, and the painting style evolved, incorporating the Western perspective and other techniques, such as the effect of chiaroscuro, into the traditional Chinese painting style. The Qianlong Emperor preferred painted enamel decoration to be 'dense' and 'delicate', and at the very start of his reign, he was already encouraging the employment of Canton enamelers, attracting many artists who had constant contact with the West through the trading activities and the religious missionaries. Court painters, such as Castiglione and his pupils, were also very influential in the development of the painting style of this period.

This unusual painted enamel dish combines a central European-subject scene within Chinese-taste borders. Like so many painted enamel works of this period, it is an amalgam of East and West. The central scene is similar in style to European-subject landscapes found on other contemporary enamel wares and, typical of these works, probably includes figures and elements from multiple sources. The lobed, floral shape is rare in this medium; most pieces of this size tend to be the more simple, saucer form, or the deeper basin with everted rim. The saturated, bright-blue tone, of the rim and reverse, is also quite rare, and may have been an attempt to imitate the decorative effect of earlier powder blue-glazed wares.