308.
A ‘FAMILLE ROSE’ EWER AND BASIN
Qing dynasty, Qianlong period, mid 18th century
the ewer 30,1 cm high, the tray 26 x 38,1 cm
Provenance: Naples, Villa della Floridiana, Museo Duca di Martina, Placido de Sangro (1829-1891) collection, acquired before 1869.
inv. n. 3332.
This basin and ewer could be identified with “les aiguières en casque appartenant à MM. de Martina” cited by Albert Jacquemart (A. Jacquemart, Exposition de l’Union Centrale des Beaux-Arts appliqués a l’industrie. Musée oriental. Chine, in “Gazette des Beaux-arts”, 1869, 2, pp. 473-494, p. 490) among the many ‘Famille Rose’ pieces displayed in the Parisian exhibition of 1869.
Similar ewers with basins were used for washing hands, in the dining room or in the bedchamber. They were produced in China from the early eighteenth century during the Kangxi reign, decorated with ‘Famille Verte’ enamels (F. Morena, Dalle Indie orientali alla corte di Toscana. Collezioni di arte cinese e giapponese a Palazzo Pitti, Florence 2005, p. 354, n. 324, pl. LIII) and ‘Imari’ palettes (L. Vinhais – J. Welsh (edited by), China of All Colours. Painted Enamels on Copper, London 2015, p. 207, fig. 31); later, in the Yongzheng and Qianlong periods, the decoration was mainly painted with ‘Famille Rose’ enamels, but also ‘blue and white’ examples are known (L. Vinhais – J. Welsh (edited by), China of All Colours. Painted Enamels on Copper, London 2015, p. 33, fig. 13; the authors bring these porcelain items as comparison for the contemporary production of similar painted enamels on copper ewers and basins).
The shape of this ewer and basin is inspired by European silver, pewter and ceramic prototypes (M.A. Pinto de Matos, The RA Collection of Chinese Ceramics. A Collector’s Vision, 3 voll., London 2011, II, p. 140) and there is also a possibility that the particular shape of the ewer derives from older carved rock crystal cups (R. Kerr – L.E. Mengoni, Chinese Export Ceramics, London 2011, p. 36).
A nearly identical basin is in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London (inv. C.1473-1910, illustrated inL. Vinhais – J. Welsh (edited by), China of All Colours. Painted Enamels on Copper, London 2015, p. 33, fig. 14).
