Page 13 - Nov 2019 Christie's Hong Kong a Falancai Imperial Bowl.
P. 13

IMPERIAL LOVE OF LOTUS


               Rosemary Scott
               Senior International Academic Consultant








               This exquisite imperial Kangxi bowl belongs to a small group of   㪁㑐↠᪹䣀᪹༑ᶐ
               exceptionally fine porcelains which bear the mark ‘Kangxi yuzhi’ ᄮᾭᇙㅳ .
               Such porcelains were thrown and fired at the Imperial kilns at Jingdezhen  ྼ⽖⣧⣹☽ঃᾫῙྐڋ⮂Ⰸ♃↡

               in Jiangxi province, but were then sent, in their white, unadorned, state,   ⳹ἯῚ
               more than a thousand kilometres north to the court at Beijing.  There, the   ̯ᨕⳔ⻒㒴㇔᪨४㢄ೀ⻒㧣ࠑ
               porcelains were assigned to the imperial ateliers, established by the Kangxi
               Emperor, to be decorated to his exact specifications.


               Indeed, the extent of the emperor’s intense personal interest in these   ទ໋१℣⎏ᄮᾭᇙㅳ⎾ႛ⢞഍႙卿⯝Ԡ⏟㘆⎏۔ӽ
               porcelains can be seen from some of the imperial documents that have   Ǹᄮᾭᇙㅳǹ᪪צ≢༯༯Ὅᄃǯ᫉㯸ה৅ك⊐ᮅ㇛
               survived to the present day, which make clear that the emperor personally
                                                                               ᜀᇪ㤯ᇙ⚨ᐹே⚨῟卿ㅳᎰ⡵≢⫭ᇌ㈛㙛⯍࢈㬷
               inspected each piece before it was sent to the palace ateliers for enamelling.
               One such document involves the Cao family, who had very close links to the   Ӭࢨݩ㞑ം⎏⎑ఉǯࠛ㗤ᙻᄮᾭង⎏༈ᅡהரᓞᏛ
               Kangxi emperor.  Cao Yin ᝨ༖ was a childhood friend of Kangxi, and his   Ԡᇌ卿ݻ،ᾅ⎑ӳ⎏ݰ㵲㇝᭯⥾எᙼᆭǯ
               mother Lady Sun ໑᭄ had been the emperor’s wet nurse, while Cao Yin’s
               father Cao Xi ᝨ∵ was appointed by the Kangxi Emperor to be Imperial   Ὅ⋕卿⎑ӳཌ᫉㯸≢଍჎㕈ㇼ㙞ਮ卿→ໄ༈ᅡᙔᨯ
               Textile Commissioner ⥫㙁 .  The post of Imperial Textile Commissioner
                                                                               അ⊹ᓽߪ卿ᬔ։ה৅㮷ݎቯ१ᇙ㈇卿ᙹज㘨⯍༈ݤ
               was passed down through the family for three generations, and in 1720
                                                                               הரᙼᆭǯݯԋӬ✖㉃㢙ᝤᱳࣿ⯝ᄮᾭ᳉ᴹ≾᳅⎏
               it was held by Cao Yin’s nephew Cao Fu ᝨ㯓 .  It would appear that the
               Imperial Textile Commissioner in Nanjing was responsible for forwarding   ᝨ།ǯᝨ༖ᝪݣ༈֌ᄮᾭ׿㍡卿ᬓ໑᭄ἃᄮᾭԱᬓ卿
               the undecorated porcelains from Jingdezhen to the palace in Beijing, and in   ݯ‪ᝨ∵ℛᄮᾭ㐁໶⥫㙁ǯᝨ།⯇᫉Ӳջӽ㇑卿
                    th
               the 59  year of the Kangxi reign (AD 1720) the emperor wrote a very terse
                                                                                    ჺ⊐ᝨ༖Ԡ׷ᝨ㯓ᓞ֌ǯ⊐᫉ᓠ㋏卿ᜀᇪ㤯
               response, in vermillion ink, on a report sent to him by Cao Fu.  His Imperial
               Majesty noted:                                                  ⡵≢⫭㙛՗ӬԿ፽⊐ᮅ༱⥫㙁ᐂ㗤卿ᘢᝨ㯓ᙻᄮᾭ
                                                                               ՆࢦԬჺ卻ݩ݉      ჺ卼ണᖃݤᝳបᏼ㋢▔厍Ǹ㘆
                  “Your family is currently entrusted with many offices, including the
                                                                               ׹‰།႞Կ≾അ卿ൈ┵଍⇈⇶Ԡ㯸卿ݎ㚍ᝳ᚜ዪ։
                  provision of porcelain for enamelling.  I have previously laid down
                  quotas, which must be met.  Only after I have finished inspecting   ᙇ卿ߪ՗Ԡᇌ卿㘨⯍ᇙ߿㈇໭Ꮭ῟⇈⇶卿իӶ⒖㴅
                  them are the plain white porcelains, which have arrived in Beijing,   Իഅཐ┵଍       ǹ卿㊄㇦झ࢈இ⛁ᘢ༈ࢷ⁒㩴Ƕ᳖
                  approved for the application and firing of enamels.  At present I do
                                                                               ᄮ㫇Գल≢⁞ཿǷஎ㢙㮰   卻झ࢈厍    卼ǯ
                  not know of how many porcelains you have cheated me.”
                                                                               ᄮᾭཌ㊃✙ᇙ≢⎏㨸᯷卿⋁὞Ӷ୽ᙻ㇬༩ᜀᇪ㤯⡵
                  (Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of K’ang-hsi , Yung-cheng and Ch’ien-
                  lung Porcelain ware from the Ch’ing Dynasty in the National Palace   ≢ǯձཌ⊺⇈⇶଍⁒卻ൈ᪹ᰲ㋭இᏒ㐩⎏⊺⇈⇶≢
                  Museum, Taipei, 1986, p. 14)                                 ଍卼㬪␫ᝳ࠼卿ݳԠཌ☑ᐃ⯞㑪Ḽ࣡卿ᘢ᫉⁞஠ங
                                                                               ༈ݤ㉑⛁הர卿սᓠ࡚⊺⇈⇶≢଍⯝㞖ྏ଍⎏ㅳ
               The Kangxi Emperor’s interest in these imperial porcelains was not, of
               course, limited to the inspection of the blanks sent from Jingdezhen. It was   הǯ᫉㯸༈ᅡהர⎏ㅳ৅♎㯸⥝അ卿⊐ݤ࡞ᄙ㖺Ӵ
               his personal fascination with painted enamel wares, such as those he received   㙁㗤⽔ݥ᪇Ῡ㗤ǯ    ჺ卿㉓അהரႡ㚀⯍጑༱༈卿
               as gifts from Europe, coupled with his interest in technology, that caused him
                                                                               ֿӬ㛑֍խׅᙻ⡻●ఉݤ⎑ӳԖ㇝཰Ꮢ㱐ᇵᬆ㩠㘆
               to establish and encourage the palace workshops to create fine enamelling
                                                                               ⎏ਹ▼༈ݤǯ⯍ᙻߣ⎏༈ᅡהர卿ߺׅᙻ⎑ఉ㇛࢈
               on both porcelain and metal-bodied wares.  The official workshops, making
               a wide range of items for the court, were run by a body known as the   㬷஋ᚺஊݤ卿㉑ᙻल⽚㯄ݰ㪿㑪⎏ൈዪ㱦ݤǸᰠ഍
               Zaobanchu ( 㙁㗤⽔ Office of Manufacture and Procurement), which came   ᳅⽔ǹǯᄮᾭ㡐ዪஙទகㅳהӳԧ⎏ᇙㅳ⇈⇶଍卿
               under the auspices of the Imperial Household Administration.  Some of
                                                                               ݯ㞒ഌ⯟ᓢԠӬᛓᙻ      ჺࠛ㗤⅘∇ᅐǯձᓄউ
               these workshops were within the Forbidden City itself in the Qixiang gong
                                                                               Ⴃ֜ߧՌ۔ᘰ೥⡕㞑໫卻,JMJBO 4UVNQG卼నᓈ⅘∇
               (Palace of Unfolding Auspiciousness) near to the Yangxin dian ( 㱐ᇵᬆ
               Hall of Mental Cultivation), the emperor’s main residence, although many   ᅐ卿ᝤஙᯧஇ⪉♤ᝯ۔ᘰ೥཰⽔ࣿプᮆऑᘰల卻㘆

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