Page 462 - Chinese Porcelain Vol II, Galland

KEEN-LUNG.
442

Lotus Rose.
No. 765. Lotus-shaped dish. Diameter, 14^ inches ; height,
2 inches. No mark. This piece belongs to the shaded rose
class, one section of which consists of this lotus flower style of
decoration. We generally find it on a rough porcelain, and often
of beautiful as in this instance. The are
very colouring, pieces
as a rule of a rounded form, so as to give the idea of the lotus
flower it may be dishes, or articles varying from small boxes
;
up to large jardinieres. Usually the ornamentation consists
of lotus in rose, with a little ; but
solely petals perhaps gilt
here they form merely an accessory, and one is surprised to
find so much fine work on a of dull
rough porcelain green-blue
shade. Probably the artists had often to be content with what-
ever in the way of porcelain was at hand for them to go to
work upon ; but still, taken in conjunction with the fact that
we not find white such as No. 335 coated
infrequently pieces
over with a light celadon glaze before being decorated in
colours, the question arises, did the Chinese attach the im-
we do to the whiteness of the or did
portance porcelain, they
the decoration to be on a more neutral ? Smooth-
prefer ground
ness of surface may not always be of advantage, so it is possible
they may have had doubts as to a perfectly white ground being
desirable. To return to No. 765, the reader will
invariably
wonder what the flower in the middle can be. It is a con-
ventionalized fungus painted in the most lovely bright shades
of rose and yellow ; the foliage is green and brown, the latter
being veined with gold, as is often the case in pieces belonging
to this time. At the top there are two fuchsias. This central
group is enclosed in a gilt circle marked off by two red rings
from which spring nine lotus leaves in shaded pink, above
these is the usual brown curl-work on which are thrown the
most beautifully coloured flowers in three designs repeated
three times, so filling the nine spaces, seemingly orchid
lotus with in
sprays, prunus blossom, then perhaps paeony
and with of a blue and two red flowers
pink yellow, part
Below the there are at the back nine
showing. gilt edge
lotus petals, much the same as in front. We here have the
so-called mandarin flowers at their best.
As an instance of the and coloured
lotus-shaped pieces