Chinese Export Porcelain Imari Tureen and Cover

Details

Description

Chinese Imari Export: Ducks, Lotus, and the Global Market (Circa 1770)

This is a Chinese Export Porcelain Soup Tureen and … Read more Chinese Imari Export: Ducks, Lotus, and the Global Market (Circa 1770)

This is a Chinese Export Porcelain Soup Tureen and Cover, dating to approximately 1770 during the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty. The piece is decorated in the Imari palette of underglaze blue and overglaze iron-red (and gilding). The main motif is a classic Chinese scene: Ducks Amongst Lotus on a pond. The tureen features an undulating rim and is fitted with highly distinctive, sculptural upturned lotus-form handles. The cover is surmounted by a lotus bud finial and displays the same aquatic scene.

Dimensions are 9 inches high x 13 1/2 inches wide x 9 3/4 inches deep. Condition notes: Two orange leaves on the cover have been invisibly repaired. A manufacturing smear exists in the orange paint on one handle.

Historical Context: The Chinese Imari Style

The "Chinese Imari" style emerged in the early 18th century as Chinese kilns in Jingdezhen began copying the richly colored porcelain wares previously exported from the Japanese port of Imari. Japan had captured the lucrative European porcelain market during the late 17th-century period of instability in China (the transition from Ming to Qing). Once Chinese production was stabilized under the Kangxi Emperor, the potters quickly replicated the popular Japanese aesthetic—characterized by the combination of underglaze blue with iron-red and gold—to reclaim the trade.
By the time this tureen was made, around 1770, Chinese Export porcelain was at its peak. European merchants, having established a direct trade relationship, commissioned forms specifically for Western dining, such as this soup tureen. While the form caters to European function, the "Ducks Amongst Lotus" motif is a traditional Chinese symbol of marital harmony and purity, demonstrating the blend of cultural influences specific to export wares of the Qing period.

References

• Provenance: Chinese Porcelain Company (Circular paper label).

• Illustrated: The Art of the Qing Potter: Important Chinese Export Porcelain, Page 77, # 52.

• General Context: Chinese Imari wares were popular from approximately 1700–1780. (See Noel Hume 1976: 258-259). This object belongs to a diverse group of Chinese export porcelain produced during the height of the global trade, often referred to as being made during the Qianlong period (1736–1795).

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