A CHINESE FAMILLE-ROSE PAINTED ENAMEL 'PHOENIX' CUP STAND

Late Qing Dynasty

With shallow lobed sides rising to a protruding foliate rim, delicately painted to the interior with eight rising phoenixes encircling a domed central cup stand adorned with archaistic decorations, all on a yellow ground, the caliber lined with a stepped gilt metal rim above an unfurling peony flowerhead on a turquoise ground, the exterior decorated with archaistic dragons painted in red, aubergine, blue and green, the underside painted with rolling waves and centered with a medallion enclosing an apocryphal four-character Kangxi yuzhi mark,

21.6cm diameter

晚清 銅胎畫琺瑯鳳紋盞托

Note: The fall of the Ming Dynasty in the 17^th century brought great social upheaval to China, the unrest and political turmoil in the country affecting not only the common people and educated classes, but also the foreign Jesuits stationed in mainland China. Dynastic change saw many Jesuits finding themselves on opposing sides: Adam Schall (1591-1666) was an important advisor to the Shunzhi Emperor in Beijing, whereas Michał Boym (1614-1659) travelled from the jungles of south west China to Rome, carrying the plea of help from the court of the Yongli Emperor of the Southern Ming, returning with only the Pope's promise of prayer.

A new wave of Jesuit arrivals to China sparked technological and artistic development. The Kangxi emperor was fascinated with imported enamelled wares from Europe, establishing imperial workshops and ateliers staffed with both local artists and European Jesuit craftsmen. The wares produced were of outstanding quality, combining domestic glass-making prowess with vibrant imported pigments. The end of the Kangxi period saw the development of the famille rose palette using these foreign pigments, although use of the colour was not properly mastered until during the Yongzheng emperor’s reign. Yang Ling (d.1724), the governor of Guangdong, had written several times regarding his purchasing of Western enamel pigments, and of the efforts of local craftsmen, not only in attempting to produce wares with painted enamels, but also to develop their own rouge pigments.

A comparable cup stand, with a Kangxi yuzhi mark and of the period, is housed in the collection of the National Palace Museum, no. K1E000374N000000000PAC. A painted enamel tray decorated with a similar colour scheme and design elements, mark and period of Kangxi, is in the same collection, no. K1E000375N000000000PAJ.

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