Vase with flowers of the four seasons in fencai polychrome enamels, Qing dynasty, Qianlong reign (1736-1795)

Vase with flowers of the four seasons in fencai polychrome enamels, Qing dynasty, Qianlong reign (1736-1795)

• Image Number: K1B002781N000000000PAB
• Dynasty: Qing dynasty
• Category: Ceramics
• Function: Container
• Material: Minerals/Ceramics/
• Description:
  Straight mouth, long neck, round belly, short circle foot. Lake green glaze is applied inside the vessel. The mouth edge is painted with a golden border, and the neck and round abdomen are painted with various western flowers such as crocus, anemone, and chrysanthemum, surrounded by soft curly leaf patterns. The foot margin is painted with gold color, the outer bottom is painted with lake green glaze, and the blue and white seal script “made in the year of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty” is written in a blank box. According to Liao Baoxiu’s research, the decorative patterns on this utensil are obviously influenced by western painting techniques. Each layer of decorative patterns uses enamel white material to spot light and shadow highlights, showing a light and dark three-dimensional effect. In addition, the whole piece was decorated with foreign flowers prevalent in the early Qianlong period on the white ground, leaving two sections of white space, which was relatively rare in the Qianlong foreign color vessels. The Qing Palace usually called such shaped vessels paper mallet bottles. Emperor Qianlong loved this shape very much. He once explained in the notes to imperial poems that “bile bottles and paper mallet bottles are the best bottles”.