A large Chinese famille rose dish painted with flowers. Yongzheng period, Chenghua mark.
Enameled in the Chinese taste in opaque enamels of the famille rose (Fencai) palette in natural colors, the center with branches of camellia and prunus, anemone, peonies and bindweed sprays on the rim ; the reverse with the Chenghua mark.
- Country:
- China
- Period :
- Yongzheng (1723-1735)
- Material:
- Porcelain
- Dimension:
- 36 cm
- Reference :
- B217
- Status:
- sold
Related works
For a plate with a similar decoration, with the same Chenghua mark, see A. Varela Santos, 100 years of chinese export porcelain, 2014-2015, London, no. 99.
A Yongzheng plate, with a similar decoration, but in eggshell porcelain and without Chenghua mark is illustrated in The Book of Famille Rose by Williamson (pl. XXXV, Mrs Kenneth Lightfoot’s Collection).
A famous design with two ladies, from the Yongheng period, has on the rim a similar flower’s decoration of anemone (D.F. Lunsingh Scheurleer, Chine de Commande, no. 84). Another dish, with this design is published in the same book (no. 82).
Notice
The Chenghua mark (1465-1487) which can be found on Chinese Export Porcelain during the 17th and 18th centuries was not intended as a forgery on the period, but rather as a compliment to the quality of the piece.
It was quite used during the reign of Kangxi (1662-1722) to replace his mark because he forgot the use of his mark on porcelain made for export after 1682.
This ban was nominally remained in force until the late 19th century.
The presence of this Chenghua mark on Chinese Export Porcelain of the Yongzheng period (1723-1735) is very rare.
There is no doubt that this dish is from the Kangxi reign (1662-1722). If the decoration is from the same period, it would be one of the earliest export Fencai enamelled pieces known, as the plate published by A. Varela Santos (100 years of chinese export porcelain, 2013-2014, London, no. 99).
However, it is also possible to attribute it to the early part of the Yongzheng period (1723-1735) when an earlier plate was used, but this is a troubling thing to find it only on specific group with the same type of very bold decoration, which have similarities to the one from the Kangxi reign (1662-1722) and not to the one of the Yongzheng reign (1723-1735).
