jug; cover BM-1963-0422.4

Period:Qing dynasty Production date:1750-1780 (circa)
Materials:porcelain
Technique:glazed, painted,
Subjects:angel cherub/cupid
Dimensions:Height: 22 centimetres

Description:
‘Famille rose’ jug and cover painted with naked and semi-naked figures. This covered jug has a rounded body, tall spouted neck and cover. Its sides are divided by overglaze-blue lines into two tiers of four sections. The lower sections each contain a naked or semi-naked figure dancing within a rococo frame with a coronet. The upper tier shows four figures in blue loin cloths, with their arms raised and their hair standing on end. The handle is decorated with an iron-red floral design.
IMG


Comments:Harrison-Hall and Krahl 1994:This comical design can not yet be explained as its Western source is still unidentified. It has been suggested that it is an armorial design belonging to the German family Bucholtz of Brandenburg whose coat of arms depicts a naked woman with long hair holding a coronet in herleft hand (Rietstap, 1903, vol. I, pl. CCCXLIV). Other pieces from this unusual dinner service include an oval platter in the China Trade Museum, Milton, Massachusetts, U.S.A. (Milton, 1982. no. 84) and a sauceboat and dinner plate (Christie’s London, 1st November 1993,lots 127 and 128).