Bowl with stand nineteenth century
Porcelain with moulded decoration and copper-red glaze on carved wood stand | 4.5 x 17.4 cm (whole object) | RCIN 2390
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A Chinese porcelain shallow bowl, with rounded sides, constricted below an everted rim, spreading from a low foot with glazed base. The sides are moulded in relief with a peony scroll, and inside, two fish, under a copper-red glaze. The carved wood stand is a five-legged plate, possibly of some age, but does not belong.
While the rare copper-red glazes of the early Ming period underwent a revival at the court of Kangxi (1662–1722), the period is better known in the West for its creation of the strikingly brilliant sang-de-boeuf wares. These are subject to uneven effects of colour owing to the fugitive quality inherent in the medium. Later in the eighteenth century, it resulted also in the making of flambé wares with purplish markings, which are at times due to the deliberate addition of cobalt blue.Text adapted from Chinese and Japanese Works of Art in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen: Volume II.
Provenance
Presented to Queen Victoria in 1896 by Li Hongzhang (1823-1901), the Special Chinese Ambassador, on behalf of the Emperor of China's mission. The Special Ambassador travelled to the United Kingdom as part of a diplomatic tour (which also included visits to Germany, Canada and the United States) following the coronation of Nicholas II in Moscow where he led the Chinese delegation. He was one of the first appointments of an Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order which had been instituted in April 1896. The Special Chinese Ambassador also presented gifts (see also RCIN 2391) as well as presenting gifts on behalf of the Chinese emperor (see RCINs 58815.1-2 and 35398.a-c).
Recorded in the Inventory of Works of Art at Osborne House (1900), Volume I, p. 359, in the New Wing Corridor at Osborne House as ‘Red Porcelain Fish Bowl with fishes wrought in the ground work of the bowl, raised floral scroll pattern around the outside in white relief. Diameter 6 7/8 inches. On a carved, black rosewood circular stand on 5 scrolls’; sent to Buckingham Palace in April 1903. -
Creator(s)
(nationality)Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Porcelain with moulded decoration and copper-red glaze on carved wood stand
Measurements
4.5 x 17.4 cm (whole object)
Category