Famille Rose Tea Bowls

In Chinese famille rose porcelain it is rare to see westerners depicted in any setting, this set is particularly unusual because it depicts both westerners and asians. For me the story is obscure and I have yet to read anything explaining it but I think like to think it shows a western visitor in china being reminded of his own youth and old dog. The bowl has four scenes on it depicting a western child playing with a diffrent dog. I could be very wrong on this but I like to think its true. All of this is sorounded in a very well executed grisaille and gilt border. It is from around 1735 and has a Martin Hurst Collection Sticker on the bottom. Photo by Sean Blanchet courtesy of Polly Latham Asian Art.

This is a very rare Lapis Lazuli blue ground tea cup (the handle is out of this picture) from around 1730 (Yongzheng Period). The gold floral borders are gilt. What makes this tea service so rare is the fact that the blue is an over glaze, traditionally blues where under the final glaze. Other pieces of this or a very similar service can be seen on page 18 of “The Book of Famille Rose” by George C. Williamson. Photo by Sean Blanchet courtesy of Polly Latham Asian Art

A great famille rose tea bowl and saucer in a rare lotus form. Both the tea bowl and saucer were potted into the form of lotus peddles which reflect the colors of the enameling. The central subject of the saucer is a sacred fungus, I believe it is a source of immortality but I could be wrong. Comment if you remember. This tea bowl is available from: Polly Latham Asian Art who was kind enough to allow me to photograph it.

Famille Rose Tea Bowl with applied decoration.

This very rare tea bowl and saucer not only are decorated with fine famille rose enameling but also rare applied decoration which makes up the feet of both the bowl and dish. This one is in rare and fantastic condition. If you are looking to buy one look very carfully through magnification for glue joints. Photo by Sean Blanchet courtesy of Polly Latham Asian Art.

Famille Rose Tea Bowl

This is a great example of over glazed ground colors. (for another great example see the blue ground bowl) This is a famille rose set from the early 1700’s. The very dark areas you can see around some of the flowers in the saucer decoration are tarnished silver gilding.

Famille Rose Tea Cup and Saucer

So I had to blow this one up so you could see the incredible diapering pattern. This is a fantastic example of what the Chinese artisans of the time were capable of. I post more info on this over the next few days.

This is a lovely piece of famille rose; a tea bowl and saucer depicting a group of girls playing the Chinese game of war. The blue pattern around the edges is called diapering. This set is made of egg shell porcelain which is extremely thing and fragile. This set was made during the Yung Cheng era. Im not sure of the significance of the two bunnies but I will look it up soon.