A CHINESE YELLOW-GROUND FAMILLE-ROSE SGRAFFIATO JAR.

Qing Dynasty, Qianlong mark and of the period.

The ovoid body lobed into six sections decorated with stylised flower heads, including lotus, iris and honeysuckle, all wreathed by short feathery foliate scrolls, reserved on a ground of brilliant lemon-yellow ground finely engraved with dense sgraffiato feathery arabesques, a coloured lappet band above the foot and a ruyi head band below the neck, the interior and base enamelled turquoise, the base inscribed in underglaze blue with a six-character seal mark, together with a white metal spoon, 7cm H. (2)

清乾隆 黃地洋彩繪罐連金屬勺，青花「大清乾隆年製」款

The refined quality of this little jar, likely commissioned by the Qianlong Emperor as part of a treasure box, recalls the decoration of other pieces from the Imperial collection. The sgraffiato technique was first developed during the Qianlong period and is said to have been inspired by Peking enamelware decorations. Indeed numerous small scale vessels decorated in enamel on copper with related floral decoration and a yellow ground have been preserved in the Imperial collection. See for example, Compendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Enamels Series, volume 5, 2011, cat nos 94, 95, 180, 181 and 179 and Radiant Luminance : the Painted Enamelware of the Qing Imperial Court, 2012, p 182, plate 131A. Other examples also exist in porcelain. For a yellow ground sgraffiato miniature vase see Regina Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, London, 1994-2010, vol. 4, no. 1772. A ruby-ground meiping, similarly decorated in the sgraffiato method and painted with a large variety of stylized flowers including lotus with its petals shaded in the Western style, is preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, and illustrated in Kangxi. Yongzheng. Qianlong: Qing Porcelain from the Palace Museum Collection, Hong Kong, 1989, p. 361, pl. 42.

Please login or create an account to view/request condition reports