Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Ceramics, Room 145

Vase

1700-10 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Porcelain objects with a dark blue glaze were amongst the most popular items produced at the Jingdezhen kilns in south-east China for export. This type of glaze was called chuiqing or 'blown blue' in China, and known as bleu soufflé or fouetté in Europe. The name derives from the particular technique required to apply the glaze on the surface: the powdered cobalt was blown through a bamboo cane that had a fine gauze at one of the extremities.

Objects with powder-blue glaze were produced since the late 17th century, and by the early 18th century fine gilded decorations of flowers, landscapes and symbolic motifs were added on the surface. They were particularly favoured in the Middle East but also widely exported in Europe, where they were used as tableware in the residences of aristocrats and wealthy people, or exhibited on the walls and in the niches of the so-called 'porcelain rooms'.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Porcelain with powder-blue glaze and painted in underglaze blue
Brief description
Porcelain bottle with powder-blue glaze and painted in underglaze blue, Jingdezhen, China, Qing dynasty, Kangxi reign (1662-1722)
Physical description
Porcelain bottle, one of a pair, with bulbous form and long narrow neck. Powder-blue ground with reserved panels, lobed, fruit-shaped or fan-shape, painted with fabolous beasts among waves, rabbits, crayfish and flowers in underglaze blue.
Dimensions
  • Height: 43.2cm
  • Diameter: 21cm
Styles
Gallery label
Bottle vases with mythical beasts China, Jingdezhen, 1700–10 Chinese potters created ‘powder blue’ grounds by spraying cobalt on the pot before painting and glazing it. Museum no. 275&A-1886(September 2009)
Object history
Purchased from James Orrock (48 Bedford Square), accessioned in 1886. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project.
Bought from Orrock Collection at 126 pounds 1 shillings for the pair. [275&A-1886]
Subjects depicted
Summary
Porcelain objects with a dark blue glaze were amongst the most popular items produced at the Jingdezhen kilns in south-east China for export. This type of glaze was called chuiqing or 'blown blue' in China, and known as bleu soufflé or fouetté in Europe. The name derives from the particular technique required to apply the glaze on the surface: the powdered cobalt was blown through a bamboo cane that had a fine gauze at one of the extremities.

Objects with powder-blue glaze were produced since the late 17th century, and by the early 18th century fine gilded decorations of flowers, landscapes and symbolic motifs were added on the surface. They were particularly favoured in the Middle East but also widely exported in Europe, where they were used as tableware in the residences of aristocrats and wealthy people, or exhibited on the walls and in the niches of the so-called 'porcelain rooms'.
Collection
Accession number
275A-1886

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Record createdDecember 9, 2008
Record URL
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