Page 204 - A Re-examination of Late Qing Dynasty Porcelain, 1850-1920 THESIS

painted on a white ground or a colored ground, leading to the development of numerous

subcategories like fencai. However, within this study the broad idea of famille rose,

meaning “the pink family,” has been the most relevant. The wares produced in falangcai

during the Qianlong reign were unique because they were enameled within the Forbidden

City’s workshop. This distinction means that the porcelain was painted by an artist and

given a great deal of attention. In Five miniature garlic-head bottles, each vessel

displays a different floral or bird-and-flower image in the falangcai coloring (Figure

77). 265 Each vessel displays a globular body, long-neck, and six-lobed garlic-head style

mouth. While the motifs are undoubtedly inspired by earlier representations of

auspicious flowers and birds, each design is unique. While this study has primarily seen

matching pairs, this group of vases maintain complementary designs. The imagery across

all five vessels incorporates rocks, chrysanthemums, lilies, asters, and maple. The range

of imagery created on each vessel was a direct result of the type of porcelain being

produced within the palace workshops, which relied on the painting of an individual

artist. In comparison, wares that were finished at Jingdezhen could be attributed to

specific workshops. Each workshop relied on the same individual to paint each vessel, or

on a group of artists working within the same style. This process resulted in uniformity

within the objects painted in each workshop. In contrast, the palace workshops were not

standardized. Each painter worked as an individual, and therefore the wares of the

falangcai style were each unique in their enamel application. Regina Krahl has

suggested, “Falangcai porcelains were painted individually by court painters with a

distinct personal style, rather than by teams of highly specialized craftsmen working

265 Krahl, “Surprises, Discoveries and Puzzles: Reviewing the Sir Percival David Collection,” 61.

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