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NEW RESEARCH:
THE BLUE AND WHITE ‘BAJIXIANG’ MOONFLASKS,
QIANLONG SEAL MARK AND OF THE PERIOD,
IN THE QING COURT COLLECTION
AT THE PAL ACE MUSEUM, BEIJING
Huang Weiwen
Senior Researcher, Department Of Ceramics, Palace Museum, Beijing
The Palace Museum (Beijing Gugong) was established on Jingdezhen under a successive number of very capable
10 October 1925 in Beijing’s former ‘Forbidden City’, the Court-appointed supervisors, including Tang Ying. Under
Imperial Court location unchanged throughout both the Ming stringent supervision, requiring the potters, painters and
and Qing dynasties. The collection in the Palace Museum enamellers to use the best-quality raw materials regardless
currently comprises some 1,800,000 cultural relics, most of of cost, large numbers of extravagant and unique Imperial
which are well documented and are known collectively as porcelain pieces were produced. A wide range of Imperial
the ‘Qing Court Collection’.1 The Palace Museum, Beijing porcelains commissioned and created during the Qianlong
also includes collections from other Qing dynasty Imperial period is still housed in the Palace Museum, including both
Palaces, including the Summer Palace, the Chengde fanggu and new innovative designs in various shapes,
Summer Retreat, and the Mukden Palace complex (now exhibiting virtuoso skills in both the potting and in the lavish
known as the ‘Shenyang Palace Museum’). The Qing Court decoration. At this time, porcelain production reached its
collection houses a very wide variety of objects, mostly of all-time zenith in China. These Imperially-commissioned
superb quality; they not only allow us to visualise the daily masterpieces reflected both the emperor’s personal
lifestyle at the Imperial Court, but also help us to understand taste, his high regard for the finest porcelains; and the
the aesthetic taste of the Imperial family. essential concomitant that the emperor had himself directly
intervened in the production of Imperial porcelain.
During the reign of the Qianlong emperor (1736-1795),
the economy flourished, and therefore the dynasty was The Qianlong emperor treated the official requirements of
prosperous. The enormous Imperial revenues became running his government just as seriously as forming his
the financial backbone of the extravagant lifestyle at the collection of Chinese art. Among all the art categories on
Imperial Court. Owing to the huge Imperial demand for which the Qianlong emperor focussed his connoisseurship,
porcelain pieces to be used as Palace furnishings, for porcelain was the most highly favoured. Not only did he
religious ceremonies, and as gifts, Imperial porcelain set out to collect finest-quality ceramics of the Song and
designs which were approved and particularly admired Ming dynasties, but he also ordered the Imperial kilns to
by the emperor were specifically produced at the kilns in reproduce them. Ever since he had come to power, the
18 | BONHAMS
