Blue and white octagonal candlestick with broken branches

[Blue and white origami octagonal candlestick]

Blue and white origami octagonal candlestick, Ming Yongle, height 38.5 cm, caliber 9 cm, foot diameter 23.5 cm. The old collection of the Qing Palace
The candlestick has eight modes, divided into two layers. The upper and lower parts are octagonal, and the bottom is hollow. The upper pedestal is painted with banana leaf pattern, echo pattern and deformed lotus petal pattern from top to bottom. The pillars between the two floors of the pedestal are decorated with brocade patterns and tangled branches. The surface of the lower pedestal is decorated with sea water and river cliff patterns, the edge is decorated with lotus petal patterns for one week, and the outer wall is painted with eight groups of various flowers with tangled branches on eight sides. The blue and white flowers are colorful, faint and scattered, and there are “rust scars” in some parts. The white glaze is thick and clear, and there is no glaze at the bottom
As early as the Three Kingdoms and the Two Jin Dynasties, porcelain candlesticks appeared in China, such as the sheep candlesticks in the Three Kingdoms and the orc candlesticks in the Two Jin Dynasties. The lotus candlesticks were popular in the Northern and Southern Dynasties. The candlestick bases in the Sui and Tang Dynasties were mostly carved with exquisite patterns. The octagonal candlesticks were popular in the Ming Dynasty. The blue material used for the decoration of the octagonal candlestick is imported cobalt material, which is called “Su Ni Bo Qing” (or “Su Ma Li Qing”). The shape of this candlestick is modeled after the copper candlestick of the mosque in West Asia. Copper candlesticks were very popular in ancient Egypt and Syria.