Chinese Porcelain
Blue and White Kangxi Period 1662-1722
Vases
Page 1
Around 1680, Emperor Kangxi (1662–1722) established his authority over all parts of China after a long period of civil strife. The porcelain factories in Jingdezhen that were demolished in 1675 resumed production and within a few years exports were booming. Chinese junks sailed to Batavia, bringing their porcelain to the market. From there, it was shipped to the Netherlands in VOC (Dutch East India Company, 1602–1799) vessels. However, private individuals bypassed the Company and also imported huge quantities of porcelain to Holland. In Europe, a change in dining habits and the introduction of tea and coffee created new demands. New varieties of Chinese export porcelain were produced, including all kinds of Western shapes. Porcelain, sometimes in miniature, was frequently used to decorate house interiors in Europe.
Much porcelain of this period is decorated in a clear, transparent underglaze blue. Popular decorations included the Buddhist lotus motif, a pheasant with long tail feathers on a rock amidst flowers, and the ‘Long Eliza’ with the 'Dancing Fool', the Dutch name for a Chinese lady and a small boy depicted in a garden.
Kangxi porcelain is very well made, with a thin body, a balanced shape and a smooth glaze without impurities. Cobalt blue oxide was subtly applied in varying degrees of saturation, suggesting depth and volume. The colour ranges from a silvery to a deep dark blue; in the best pieces the details and the craftsmanship are amazing. However, due to stricter controls by officials, the freedom and easy way of painting that was so characteristic of the preceding Transitional period now gave way to a more formal style with an emphasis on symmetry and centralism.
Blue and White Kangxi Period 1662-1722 - Vases - Page 1
Objects 2010569 and 2012067
Two bottle vases
China
c.1700
2010569: height 80 mm (3.15 inch), diameter 51 mm (2.01 inch), diameter of mouthrim 10 mm (0.39 inch), diameter of footring 23 mm (0.91 inch), weight 63 grams (2.22 ounce (oz.))
2012067: height 79 mm (3.11 inch), diameter 52 mm (2.05 inch), diameter of mouthrim 9 mm (0.35 inch), diameter of footring 21 mm (0.83 inch), weight 69 grams (2.43 ounce (oz.))
Two bottle vases on footrings, compressed globular bodies surmounted by tall narrow cylindrical necks. Decorated in underglaze blue with a bird in flight below sprays of plum blossom, round the foot a band of ascending lotus petals in low relief.
For a similarly decorated, bottle vases, please see:
Conditions:
2010569: A tiny (restored) frit to the rim, a frit to the inner footring and some spots on the body caused by popped bubbles of glaze during the firing process.
2012067: A firing flaw to the inner footring.
Reference:
Price: € 499 Currency Converter
Blue and White Kangxi Period 1662-1722 - Vases - Page 1
Object 2011758
A miniature "doll's house" vase
China
c.1700
Height 49 mm (1.92 inch), diameter 20 mm (0.79 inch), diameter of rim 5 mm (0.20 inch), diameter of base 13 mm (0.51 inch), weight 13 grams (0.46 ounce (oz.))
Moulded miniature "doll's house" vase on a flat unglazed base. Decorated in underglaze blue, on the body moulded panels filled with flowering branches and stems, on the long neck two grasses sprays.
At the beginning of the 18th century, there was a fashion among wealthy Dutch ladies to have models made on the scale of a house, the so called "doll's houses". The rooms of these doll's houses were furnished with miniature pieces of porcelain, furniture, paintings, upholstery and all other sorts of objects that would have belonged to the interior of a wealthy home. These doll's houses were very costly and certainly not meant for children to play with but were proudly displayed for friends and visitors and regarded as extremely luxurious items - counterparts of the cabinets of curiosities that were a fashionable hobby of rich men. Only a few of these doll's houses have been preserved. One example can be found in the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague showing an 18th century room with porcelain miniatures in cupboards and on brackets along the wall. In reality the majority of these "miniature doll's house vases" would have been part of the interior. A good example of an authentic porcelain room is the famous cabinet in Pommersfelden Castle, Germany, where groups of pieces on brackets are surrounded by these miniature vases lining the borders of the consoles. (Jörg & Flecker 2001, pp.50-51)
It was a popular pastime for the ladies of the Dutch patrician society to furnish doll's houses, whose various rooms reflected those of their own town palaces. Apart from the usual furniture, miniature versions of exotic luxury goods such as porcelain, fabrics, carpets and lacquer were obligatory. The doll's house of Petronella Oortman, now in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, and that of Lita de Ranitz in the Historical Museum of the Hague are considered to be the most prominent examples. The Chinese had produced miniature ceramics for almost one thousand years for the decoration of birdcages, therefore it was no problem for them to supply the Dutch with doll's house porcelain. Miniature pieces were also displayed in ordinary porcelain rooms in cupboards and on brackets along the wall. (Suebsman 2019, p.76)
Condition: Some popped bubbles of glaze, caused by the firing process and a firing flaw to the unglazed foot.
References:
Price: € 149 Currency Converter
Blue and White Kangxi Period 1662-1722 - Vases - Page 1
Object 2010984
A miniature "doll's house" vase
China
1700-1720
Height 45 mm (1.77 inch), diameter 28 mm (0.87 inch), diameter of mouthrim 15 mm (0.59 inch), diameter of footring 12 mm (0.47 inch), weight 16 grams (0.56 ounce (oz.))
Miniature "doll's house" vase on a footring. Decorated in underglaze blue with flowering plants and insects in flight.
It was a popular pastime for the ladies of the Dutch patrician society to furnish doll's houses, whose various rooms reflected those of their own town palaces. Apart from the usual furniture, miniature versions of exotic luxury goods such as porcelain, fabrics, carpets and lacquer were obligatory. The doll's house of Petronella Oortman, now in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, and that of Lita de Ranitz in the Historical Museum of the Hague are considered to be the most prominent examples. The Chinese had produced miniature ceramics for almost one thousand years for the decoration of birdcages, therefore it was no problem for them to supply the Dutch with doll's house porcelain. Miniature pieces were also displayed in ordinary porcelain rooms in cupboards and on brackets along the wall. (Suebsman 2019, p.76)
Condition: Some very tiny popped blubbles of glaze, caused by the firing process, to the rim.
Reference:
Price: € 199 Currency Converter
Blue and White Kangxi Period 1662-1722 - Vases - Page 1
Object 2010666
A miniature "doll's house" vase
China
1700-1720
Height 59 mm (2.32 inch), diameter 31 mm (1.22 inch), diameter of mouthrim 8 mm (0.31 inch), diameter of footring 15 mm (0.47 inch), weight 25 grams (0.88 ounce (oz.))
A miniature "doll's house" vase on an unglazed base. The rim in underglaze brown (jia mangkou). Decorated in underglaze-blue with flowering aster and an insect in flight.
At the beginning of the 18th century, there was a fashion among wealthy Dutch ladies to have models made on the scale of a house, the so called "doll's houses". The rooms of these doll's houses were furnished with miniature pieces of porcelain, furniture, paintings, upholstery and all other sorts of objects that would have belonged to the interior of a wealthy home. These doll's houses were very costly and certainly not meant for children to play with but were proudly displayed for friends and visitors and regarded as extremely luxurious items - counterparts of the cabinets of curiosities that were a fashionable hobby of rich men. Only a few of these doll's houses have been preserved. One example can be found in the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague showing an 18th century room with porcelain miniatures in cupboards and on brackets along the wall. In reality the majority of these "miniature doll's house vases" would have been part of the interior. A good example of an authentic porcelain room is the famous cabinet in Pommersfelden Castle, Germany, where groups of pieces on brackets are surrounded by these miniature vases lining the borders of the consoles. (Jörg & Flecker 2001, pp.50-51)
It was a popular pastime for the ladies of the Dutch patrician society to furnish doll's houses, whose various rooms reflected those of their own town palaces. Apart from the usual furniture, miniature versions of exotic luxury goods such as porcelain, fabrics, carpets and lacquer were obligatory. The doll's house of Petronella Oortman, now in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, and that of Lita de Ranitz in the Historical Museum of the Hague are considered to be the most prominent examples. The Chinese had produced miniature ceramics for almost one thousand years for the decoration of birdcages, therefore it was no problem for them to supply the Dutch with doll's house porcelain. Miniature pieces were also displayed in ordinary porcelain rooms in cupboards and on brackets along the wall. (Suebsman 2019, p.76)
Condition: Some firing flaws to the neck and foot and a tiny fleabite to the rim.
References:
Price: € 129 Currency Converter
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