TWO CHINESE FAMILLE ROSE ‘BAPO’ BOWLS.

Qing Dynasty.

The faceted sides of each bowl supported on a short tapering foot, and enamelled on a crackle ground with a collage of fragmentary calligraphic inscriptions, 6.5cm H, 10.5cm diameter / 8.5cm H, 17.5cm diameter. (2)

清 飾八破圖盌兩隻

The genre of bapo 八破 (literally 'eight-brokens') or jinhuidui 錦灰堆 (literally 'a pile of brocade and ashes') emerged at the end of the Qing Dynasty, and uses trompe-l'oeil techniques to paint piles of two dimensional textual fragments including of book pages, calligraphic rubbings, paintings, letters and other ephemera.

These compositions have been interpreted as coded reflections on the decay of cultural traditions, but they have also been used as a means of wishing someone good fortune and were often presented as birthday gifts.

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