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An attractive 19th century Cantonese famille rose porcelain bowl c1880. Footed circular bowl with deep, rounded sides. Gilt and enamel painted interior with six petal-shaped panels arranged around a central roundel. Similarly decorated and arranged panels to the exterior, alternatively depicting garden scenes and floral panels with exotic birds and butterflies. Richly decorated between panels in characteristic famille rose palette and designs. Unmarked to base. The bowl measures 30 cm in diameter and 12.5 cm in height.

 

The term famille rose (French for "pink family") was introduced together with famille verte ("green family") in 1862 by Albert Jacquemart to classify Qing dynasty porcelain by their colour palettes. It is generally thought that these colour palettes were introduced into China during the reign of Kangxi (1654–1722) by Western Jesuits who worked at the palace, but perfected in the Yongzheng era (1722–1735) when the finest pieces were made. The term in Qing documents was yangcai ("foreign colours") – indicating its foreign origin or influence, although the chemical composition of the pink enamel pigment has been found to differ from that used in Europe. Chinese famille rose porcelain was especially popular in Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries, with several different decorative patterns used. Export ware, particularly those from the 19th century tended to be more highly decorated than pieces destined for the home market. Some popular types of decorative patterns in these export wares are referred to as Rose Canton, Rose Mandarin and Rose Medallion. Rose Medallion typically has panels or medallions of flowers and/or birds alternating with panels of human figures around a central medallion. Rose Canton contains no human figures, in contrast to Rose Mandarin which shows Chinese figures.

19th Century Cantonese Famille Rose Porcelain Bowl c1880

SKU: OC144
£0.00Price
  • This bowl is in very good overall condition commensurate with age. No crazing, cracks, chips or restoration. Rubbing to gilt and overglaze losses – not detracting at all from the attractiveness of this piece. Please see images as these form an important part of the description.

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