Page 15 - China Of All Colors, Jorge Welsh

China of All Colours 19

painted enamels on copper

to enamelled copper, on the basis of style, palette its use is more commonly associated with porcelain
and decoration, the piece would be attributed to a produced after 1720.15 If painted enamels on copper
later period. However, if we accept that the Kangxi had been developed as early as 1713 or 1714, why are
mark found on this and other similar objects is of none of the known pieces with Kangxi marks deco-
the period, then these examples would potentially rated with characteristic Kangxi motifs, either in
be some of the earliest Chinese enamelled copper- enamels similar to the famille verte palette used on por-
wares produced, most likely around 1720. celain or in blue and white? Given that there are many
such porcelain examples found in the West, one would
While there continues to be much debate on the intro- expect equivalent designs to have been produced in
duction and origins of the famille rose palette in China, enamelled copper, had it been possible to do so.

FIG. 1 Fig. 1

Vase
(and detail of the base)
Copper decorated with
polychrome enamels
China — Qing Dynasty,
Kangxi period (1662-1722)

© Jörg Arend, Museum für
Kunst und Gewerbe,
Hamburg