Vase, porcelain painted in enamel, Jingdezhen, China, ca. 1723-1735

Porcelain vase painted in cobalt blue and yellow enamel.

This graceful meiping ('prunus vase') is decorated with two swirling dragons rising above breaking waves into the clouds and was probably made for the imperial court. Both the shape and the decoration have a long history in China, the meiping making its appearance in the eleventh century (see p.34) and the dragon can be traceable to Neolithic times.

The special feature on this vase is that the white background to the dragons has been over-painted with yellow enamel, a colour combination requiring a second firing. First the cobalt-painted porcelain was covered with a clear glaze and fired at a high temperature (between 1280 and 1350 °C). Yellow enamel was then applied over the white areas of the design and the piece was given another firing at about 700-800 °C. This temperature maximized the intensity of the colourant (iron oxide) and was just high enough to melt the enamel and fuse it to the glazed porcelain below.

From fifteenth century four types of monochrome porcelains were required by the court for ritual use - blue, yellow, red and white. Yellow was the only one that could not be produced at high temperatures, and although the twice-fired method sounds complicated, it guaranteed a good yellow colour. Having taken this step, Jingdezhen potters then quickly realized the decorative potential of painting polychrome designs in low-temperature enamel colours onto pre-fired porcelains ware. This made possible the multitude of polychrome-painted wares that followed, among them famille verte and famille rose.

Salting bequest

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.

This graceful meiping ('prunus vase') is decorated with two swirling dragons rising above breaking waves into the clouds and was probably made for the imperial court. Both the shape and the decoration have a long history in China, the meiping making its appearance in the eleventh century and the dragon can be traceable to Neolithic times.

The special feature on this vase is that the white background to the dragons has been over-painted with yellow enamel, a colour combination requiring a second firing. First the cobalt-painted porcelain was covered with a clear glaze and fired at a high temperature (between 1280 and 1350 °C). Yellow enamel was then applied over the white areas of the design and the piece was given another firing at about 700-800 °C. This temperature maximized the intensity of the colourant (iron oxide) and was just high enough to melt the enamel and fuse it to the glazed porcelain below.

From fifteenth century four types of monochrome porcelains were required by the court for ritual use - blue, yellow, red and white. Yellow was the only one that could not be produced at high temperatures, and although the twice-fired method sounds complicated, it guaranteed a good yellow colour. Having taken this step, Jingdezhen potters then quickly realized the decorative potential of painting polychrome designs in low-temperature enamel colours onto pre-fired porcelains ware. This made possible the multitude of polychrome-painted wares that followed, among them famille verte and famille rose.

C.995-1910