A RARE PAIR OF FINE AND IMPOSING CHINESE FAMILLE VERTE BOWLS , Kangxi (1662 – 1722)
Diameter: 33.5cm;13 ¼ ins.
Height: 17cm; 6 ¾ ins
BH09
Height: 17cm; 6 ¾ ins
BH09
Further images
The tall sides sweeping up from a circular foot ring to an everted lip, decorated in bright famille verte enamels, the exterior decorated with a continuous narrative scene from The...
The tall sides sweeping up from a circular foot ring to an everted lip, decorated in bright famille verte enamels, the exterior decorated with a continuous narrative scene from The Water Margin depicting Wu Song slaying a snarling tiger, and a scene of a bearded warrior on horseback at the edge of a river, accompanied by warriors on foot bearing halberds and a parasol, a further scene of a mass of charging warriors on horseback bearing spears and bow and arrows, and an Imperial court scene of courtiers surrounding the Emperor, one beside him bearing a gift, the Emperor seated and with calligraphy tools on his table including a three-peaked brush stand, two brushes, and an open book, the Emperor holds a flag aloft, the interior with a central roundel painted with five children at play in a terraced garden, each wearing a different coloured robe, the inner rim with a border of six quatrefoil cartouches containing precious objects reserved including a qin, books, a weiqi board, and painted hand scrolls, against a honeycomb diaper pattern ground.
Literature
Known to the Chinese as yingcai (strong colours) the term 'famille verte' was used for the first time by Albert Jacquemart (1808 - 1875) a French collector and published in his book, Histoire de la Céramique, in 1873, where he categorised Chinese porcelain into groups depending on the predominant colour.For a comparable Chinese Kangxi (c.1705) famille verte bowl, also with a scene of the Imperial court, see: The Connoisseur Volume LXXXIX. (The Connoisseur Ltd, London, 1932), catalogue number 172. This bowl is part of the Leonard Gow Collection of Chinese Porcelain, and is of the similar impressive size as our pair.
The Water Margin is one of the Four Great Classical Novels in Chinese literature. Wu Song, shown here slaying a tiger, is a legendary hero who is recounted in Chinese literature from the 13th century.
