QIANLONG 1736 – 1795. Chinese Export Porcelain
A Blue and White Chinese Export Porcelain Tureen and Cover, Qianlong c.1750. Of an Unusual Shallow Octagonal Star Shape Form with a Fo Dog (Buddhist lion) Finial. Decorated with Cartouches of Peony and Rocks in a Garden Setting. The Ground is ‘Seeded’ and Decorated with Lotus.
SOLD
- Condition
- Very good, one point on the cover chipped, this triangular loss is c. 3 x 3 x 3mm. Very tiny frits to the glaze.
- Size
- Diameter : 18.5 cm (7 1/4 inches)
- Provenance
- N/A
- Stock number
- 21007
Information
By the mid 18th century, Chinese Export Porcelain shapes had become more standardised, and patterns were designed to appeal to European taste. Far fewer items were being produced purely for decorative purposes. Changing fashion and social change were both responsible. As so often occurs, the two were inextricably linked. The middle classes were expanding, and as a result merchants, shopkeepers and others had more money to spend. Huge services were ordered for the newly fashionable formal dinner parties. One hundred and seventy-one services were included in the Nanking Cargo (1752) alone. Every item needed for the table was produced in Chinese porcelain, so the services sometimes contained between one hundred and fifty and three hundred pieces.