Cer, China, Qing, f.verte

This bowl is painted on the biscuit in green, yellow, aubergine purple and white enamels. The palette is known as the 'austere three colours' due to the absence of red. The decoration consists of items from the babao (Eight Precious) and bajixiang (Eight Auspicious) groups, namely the pearl, books, picture, chime stone, artemisia leaf and conch shell. These, together with lotus and prunus, are painted in a rather careless manner over a ground of waves. The mark Liancheng qishi (rare stone worth several cities) written within a double circle in underglaze blue is on the base.

The way the waves are represented by concentric rings is inherited from earlier times, suggesting that this bowl dates to the early years of the Kangxi period. Liancheng qishi can be a commendatory mark, asserting that the bowl (here the word 'stone' is synonymous to 'pottery') is as valuable as several cities.

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 bowl is painted in green, yellow, aubergine purple and white enamels. The palette is known as the 'austere three colours' due to the absence of red. The decoration consists of items from the 'babao' (Eight Precious) and 'bajixiang' (Eight Auspicious) groups. These include the pearl, books, picture, chime stone, artemisia leaf and conch shell. The painting is done in a rather careless manner but has a certain spontaneous charm.

C.1064-1910