Page 104 - A Re-examination of Late Qing Dynasty Porcelain, 1850-1920 THESIS

Museum’s collection. One dish utilized a traditional imperial design of incised dragons

chasing a pearl among clouds (Figure 27). The ground of the dish is a vivid yellow with

one dragon glazed in brown and the other in green. The dragons are not crisply detailed

and appear blurred and hastily designed, showing very little connection to the detail

exhibited in prior porcelain commissions by the imperial court. Although the quality of

the dish is not as high as the porcelain quality of previous reigns, the iconography is

based in tradition. Historically, the dragon is one of the oldest symbols found in Chinese

mythology. 112 The symbol became an emblem of power strongly connected to the

emperor’s imperial authority. The emperor associated with this symbol on this particular

dish is Xuantong. The mark on the base of the dish dates to the emperor’s short reign and

reads Da qing Xuantong nian zhi (Made in the Xuantong reign of the great Qing

dynasty). This inscription allows for a date of approximately 1909 to 1911. Visually, the

dish is reminiscent of earlier imperial porcelain designs, revealing a limited amount of

influence from Xuantong or his regents. Xuantong’s young age prevented him from

having the opportunity to act as a patron. This Xuantong dish indicates that traditional

imperial porcelain was commissioned during his reign; although, it lacks the artistry

found within the porcelain patronized prior to his rule. From this example, it appears that

the imperial commissions of porcelain during Xuantong’s reign were not of the same

quality as those of former rulers.

The second example explored within the Victoria and Albert collection that dates

to the reign of Xuantong is a small bowl with underglaze blue floral designs (Figure 28).

Unlike the previous example, this blue-and-white bowl does not exhibit a distinct

112 Stacey Pierson, Designs as Signs: Decoration and Chinese Ceramics (London: School of
Oriental and African Studies University of London, 2001), 67.
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