Bottle

Yongzheng era, 1723-1735

China, Jiangxi Province

Porcelain painted with overglaze enamels (Jingdezhen ware)

H. 13 1/2 x Diam. 8 3/4 in. (34.3 x 22.2 cm)

Asia Society, New York: Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection, 1979.189

Provenance

John D. Rockefeller 3rd, New York, NY; acquired from Asian Gallery, New York, NY, October, 1971.

The Asia Society, New York, NY, bequest of John D. Rockefeller 3rd, New York, NY, 1979.

Licensing inquiries

The range of colors used to paint this bottle dating to the reign of the Yongzheng emperor illustrates the famille rose palette. The use of a French term to classify this ware attests to the fascination of 17th and 18th century Europe with such ceramics. The bottle is decorated with images of peaches, pomegranates, loquats, and other auspicious motifs. In this piece colors such as the white-pink and pale green of the peaches and the bright yellow of the loquats were only possible because of the expanded palette made available by the development of the opaque enamels at the imperial kilns and factories at Jingdezhen.