Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
British Galleries, Room 125, Grove Room

Vase

1662-1722 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Object Type
This vase is made of fine porcelain painted in underglaze blue with alternating floral, figure and landscape designs contained within bands of petal-shaped panels. To a Victorian audience in search of the exotic, this style of decoration would have appealed as the epitome of the East. Commonly known as 'Chinese blue and white', vases like this were used to decorate the interiors of many British homes in the 19th century.

Place
The Grove, Harborne, near Birmingham, was commissioned by William Kenrick (1831-1919). An inventory drawn up in 1911 shows that the anteroom was decorated with a large collection of ceramics, including Wedgwood, Spode, Worcester, art pottery and Chinese blue and white. Although this vase does not come from The Grove, it is of a type that would have been included in Kenrick's collection.

Time
Chinese blue and white had been imported into Britain since the 16th century. Although by the 1870s these wares were no longer rarity items, they continued to feature prominently in interior design. Rooms were filled with blue and white porcelain of different shapes and sizes to create a sumptuous effect, with older pieces being displayed alongside newer products.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Porcelain, painted in underglaze cobalt blue
Style
Marks and inscriptions
Mark: an artemesia leaf
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.
Made in Jingdezhen, China, by an unidentified maker
Production
Kangxi reign period
Summary
Object Type
This vase is made of fine porcelain painted in underglaze blue with alternating floral, figure and landscape designs contained within bands of petal-shaped panels. To a Victorian audience in search of the exotic, this style of decoration would have appealed as the epitome of the East. Commonly known as 'Chinese blue and white', vases like this were used to decorate the interiors of many British homes in the 19th century.

Place
The Grove, Harborne, near Birmingham, was commissioned by William Kenrick (1831-1919). An inventory drawn up in 1911 shows that the anteroom was decorated with a large collection of ceramics, including Wedgwood, Spode, Worcester, art pottery and Chinese blue and white. Although this vase does not come from The Grove, it is of a type that would have been included in Kenrick's collection.

Time
Chinese blue and white had been imported into Britain since the 16th century. Although by the 1870s these wares were no longer rarity items, they continued to feature prominently in interior design. Rooms were filled with blue and white porcelain of different shapes and sizes to create a sumptuous effect, with older pieces being displayed alongside newer products.
Collection
Accession number
C.902-1910

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdMarch 27, 2003
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest