cup BM-Franks.923.+a

Period:Qing dynasty Production date:1740-1760 (circa)
Materials:porcelain
Technique:glazed, painted,

Dimensions:Diameter: 8 centimetres Height: 4.30 centimetres Weight: 46 grammes

Description:
‘Famille rose’ cup depicting the Crucifixion. Both cup and its matching saucer are painted in enamels of the ‘famille rose’ with the same scenes, showing Jesus on the cross between the two thieves who were crucified with him, Jesus being identified by rays of light around his head and the initials ‘INRI’ on the cross, the abbreviation of the Latin ‘Jesus Nazarenus Rex ludaeorum’ (Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews). Behind the three crosses is a group of mourners led by the Virgin Mary and St. John. In the foreground of the saucer and on the reverse of the cup is another scene showing centurions (commanders of the ancient Roman army) enjoying themselves casting dice, a symbolic reference to the low morality of the representatives of the state responsible for Christ’s crucifixion.
IMG


Comments:Harrison-Hall and Krahl 1994:The same scene is frequently depicted on Chinese porcelain painted ‘en grisaille’, for example on a dish also in the British Museum (Sekai Toji Zenshu, 1983, pl. 342) which forms part of a series of scenes from the life of Christ, from the birth to the ascension, which may all have been copied from the same illustrated Bible; representations in ‘famille rose’ are comparatively rare.