Page 53 - 2018 Hong Kong Important Chieese Art

Exquisitely painted with a stylised floral design that belongs to The present design, often called the ‘flower-ball’ pattern (piqiu
one of the most daring and progressive designs ever devised hua) appears to stem from such Japanese lacquer designs.
at the Jingdezhen imperial kilns, the development of this motif Many of the Japanese lacquer boxes in the National Palace
can be credited to the Yongzheng Emperor’s bold initiative Museum depict related roundels (e.g. ibid., cat. nos 20, 32, 61,
to go beyond tradition and to build upon the long-established 65, 68-71), which suggest that the Emperor encouraged court
framework of Chinese patterns to create new styles. The newly artists to develop them into completely Chinese designs on
revived and invigorated kilns set up by his father, the Kangxi imperial porcelain. This motif was produced in both doucai and
Emperor, opened the doors for the Yongzheng Emperor to famille rose palettes, the latter version providing a particularly
breathe new life into the craftsmen’s repertoire. Court artisans enchanting and fresh aesthetic as it accentuates the newly
were directed to look to China’s rich history of celebrated arts developed palette against the silky white porcelain.
and crafts as well as to foreign styles of decoration to produce
A closely related bowl, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is
pieces that were at once familiar and innovative.
published in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the
The pattern of overlapping roundels appears to have its origins Palace Museum. Porcelains with Cloisonne Enamel Decoration
in Japanese design, where circular heraldic family symbols and Famille Rose Decoration, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 67; and a
(mon) are a popular motif for adorning textiles, lacquer, pair, from the collections of Sir Keith Murdoch and Andrew
ceramics and other works of art. Although the adoption of Drummond, was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 1st May 1995,
this design by the Qing imperial kilns is very likely due to lot 669, now in the Wang Xing Lou collection, included in
the Yongzheng Emperor’s interest in Japanese aesthetics, a the exhibition Imperial Perfection. The Palace Porcelain of
similar design had already been used in Jingdezhen almost Three Chinese Emperors. A Selection from the Wang Xing Lou
a century earlier in the late Ming dynasty. Chinese potters at Collection, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, 2002,
Jingdezhen began to use Japanese designs in the mid-17th cat. no. 49. Compare a smaller Yongzheng mark and period
century, at a time when items were created in the Japanese bowl, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the
taste for export to Japan. Many of the blue and white and Museum’s exhibition Harmony and Integrity. The Yongzheng
polychrome porcelains made for the Japanese market (shonzui Emperor and His Times, 2009, cat. no. II-88. See also a pair
and aka-e) have these roundels incorporated into the design of Yongzheng doucai cups decorated with this design, from
or used as a border; see Nishida Hiroko and Degawa Tetsuro, the Meiyintang collection, sold in these rooms, 7th April 2011,
Chugoku no toji/Chinese Ceramics, vol. 10, Min Matsu Shin lot 6; and two cups, one painted in doucai and the other in
so no minyo/Export Porcelain in the Late Ming to Early Qing, underglaze blue only, published in Qing gong ciqi. Nanjing
Tokyo, 1998, pls 32, 64, 66, and p. 125, fig. 75, p. 127, fig. 81, bowuguan zhencang xilie/Imperial Kiln Porcelain of Qing
and p. 131, fig. 89. Dynasty. Gems of Collections in Nanjing Museum, Shanghai,
1998, pl. 25.
Of particular interest to the Yongzheng Emperor was the
Japanese art of lacquer that incorporated gold and silver This design was further developed in the succeeding Qianlong
(makie). Many Japanese lacquer boxes with such designs were reign, featuring on various vessels and in combination with
in the court collection, of which some are preserved in the other decorative schemes; for example see two teapots with
National Palace Museum, Taipei, and included in the Museum’s coloured grounds, from the Qing court collection and still in
exhibition Qing gong makie. Yuan cang Riben qiqi tezhan [Gold Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures
and silver lacquer work in the Qing Palace. Special exhibition of the Palace Museum. Porcelains with Cloisonne Enamel
of Japanese lacquer wares held by the Museum], 2002. The Decoration and Famille Rose Decoration, op. cit., pls 108 and
catalogue to the exhibition notes that “the appreciation and 109.
admiration that the Yung-Cheng emperor held for Japanese
lacquerware was so great that he not only encouraged their
production in the imperial factories but also promoted the
implementation of lacquerware styles and designs on other
mediums” (p. 20).

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