Fangsheng style plate with black lacquer and gold landscape patterns

[Fangsheng type plate with gold landscape pattern painted in black paint]

Fangsheng type plate with gold landscape pattern painted in black paint, Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, height 3.8 cm, caliber 36.8 × 27.8 cm
Open plate, slightly bulging diagonal abdomen, flat bottom, low circular feet. The whole body is painted with black paint as the ground, and painted with gold paint to draw patterns. The inner bottom is painted with distant mountains and near water, with embankments, small bridges, courtyards, and summer pavilions, and one person boating on the water. The mountain stones and embankments are faint in gold, and are painted using the “color gold statue” technique. The interior wall is decorated with floral brocade patterns, which serve as a foil to the landscape in the center of the dish. The outer wall is decorated with group patterns such as chrysanthemums, plum blossoms, peonies, and orchids, commonly known as “ball flowers”, which are common decorative patterns in the Qing court. In the middle of the bottom of the plate, there are two box script inscriptions with gold engraved “made in the reign of Qianlong”, surrounded by flowers such as chrysanthemums and peonies
The landscape of Panxin clearly has the style of Japanese lacquer, which should be related to the preference of the emperors Yongzheng and Qianlong for Japanese lacquer (referred to as “foreign lacquer” in the archives of the Manufacturing Office). This plate is the only gold painted lacquer ware with the Qianlong style in the Palace Museum collection, and is of great significance in identifying Chinese and Japanese lacquer ware. After the mid Ming Dynasty, artistic styles such as flamboyance, adventure, and weirdness gradually became accepted and promoted by the mainstream society. Painting gold lacquer patterns on the black lacquer floor can create a graceful and magnificent visual effect, emitting a strong court atmosphere