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 and gilded decoration 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 powdered 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 gilded decoration
Brief description
Porcelain bottle with powder-blue glaze and gilded decoration, Jingdezhen, China, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1662-1722)
Physical description
Porcelain vase, bottle-shaped with long neck, decorated in gilding on a powdered-blue ground, round the body with four panels containing alternately a sage with a boy attendant in a mountain landscape and blossoming peony and plum. Above, swastika diaper broken by panels of peaches. On the neck plantain leaves.
Dimensions
  • Height: 43.2cm
  • Diameter: 21.3cm
Styles
Marks and inscriptions
Double circle in underglaze blue
Gallery label
Bottle with landscapes China, Jingdezhen, 1700–10 Museum nos. C.540-1910. Salting Bequest(September 2009)
Credit line
Salting Bequest
Object history
Bequeathed by Mr. George Salting, accessioned in 1910. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Asia Department registers, as part of a 2022 provenance research project.
Subjects depicted
Summary
Porcelain objects with a dark blue glaze and gilded decoration 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 powdered 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'.
Other number
Loan no. 85
Collection
Accession number
C.540-1910

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Record createdDecember 15, 2008
Record URL
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