Page 321 - Christies King St. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART

A RARE KANGXI ‘CHICKEN’ CUP

ROSEMARY SCOTT, INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIC DIRECTOR, ASIAN ART
An aspect of his life that seems to have given the Kangxi emperor particular pleasure was his collection of antiques, the perusal of which
appears to have had the effect of relaxing and refreshing him. The emperor himself noted: “I used to say to my sons: Seek joyfulness when
you can, for seeking joy leads to an auspicious atmosphere. After meals we would talk about pleasant things and set our eyes on rare
antiques, so we digested easily and our bodies flourished.” (Jonathan Spence, Emperor of China: Self-Portrait of K’ang-hsi, London, 1974,
pp. 137-8).
The Kangxi emperor’s interest in antiques influenced a significant number of the porcelains made during his reign, and some
imperial porcelains of the Kangxi reign were made as direct copies of Xuande and Chenghua porcelains. In most cases these
copies appear to have been made from drawings of the original 15th century porcelains. However, it seems likely that Ming
dynasty items preserved in the Qing Palace collections may occasionally have been sent to the imperial kilns in order to be copied
exactly. Usually the copies show discrepancies in the size of the vessel, the positioning of decorative elements, or the colour of the
enamels - as might be expected if the potters were working from drawings. However, in the collection of Sir Percival David is a
chicken cup bearing a Kangxi mark, which is so close to the Chenghua original, of which of the Percival David collection also has
an example (illustrated by Rosemary Scott in Imperial Taste – Chinese Ceramics from the Percival David Foundation, Los Angeles
and San Francisco, 1989, p. 75, no. 44, and p. 73, no. 42, respectively) that the Kangxi potters must surely have had a 15th century
bowl from the palace collections in front of them as they worked.
It is likely that the current cup was created in the latter part of the Kangxi reign, as it displays a developed style, which, while true
to the spirit of the Chenghua original, includes refinements that would be taken up by the potters creating ‘chicken’ cups in the
Yongzheng reign. The ceramic artist, or, more likely artists – one for the underglaze and one for the overglaze decoration - who
painted the design on the current ‘chicken’ cup, have further refined the delicate painting style of the Chenghua cups, especially

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