18 .
CHINESE PORCELAIN WITH WESTERN SHAPES
192.
WINE POT
PORCELAIN DECORATED IN IRON RED AND GREEN
ENAMELS AND GOLD
QING DYNASTY (1644–1911), CA. 1710–1725
HEIGHT 22.5 CM; MOUTH DIAMETER 3.9 CM;
BASE DIAMETER 6.1 CM
INV. NO. 646
A double-gourd-shaped pot with a curved
handle, elongated S-shaped spout, domed lid
surmounted by a finial shaped like a
miniature gourd, and a low foot. Made in
white porcelain, and coated with a faintly
greenish glaze, except for the foot ring.
The decoration consists of spiralling pink
ribbons outlined in dark iron red, descending
from the ring on the top of the lid down to
the foot, only interrupted at the waist
separating the upper and lower parts by a
hatched zigzag border in dark iron red.
The handle and spout are enamelled in green
and painted with red clouds. The joins
between the body, handle and spout
decorated with a classic scroll. The base
marked with a double underglaze blue circle.
The spiral decoration seen on this pot is
quite rare. Some authors claim it was
inspired by Venetian or Islamic glass
decorated with colourful bands. 1 Others, that
its most probable source of inspiration was
seventeenth century Venetian milky glass
(
latticino
) over which opaque white enamel
was gently poured. During this operation,
carried out while the glass was still
malleable, the piece would be rotated in
order to create a spiral effect. 2
The simplicity of the decoration, its perfect
design and the soft shade of the glaze give
the piece a modern appearance.
This wine pot is the only one known with
this type of decoration. However, other items
featuring the same decoration are known:
two bottles from Augustus the Strong’s
collection, listed in the 1721 inventory, are
today in the Zwinger Museum, Dresden; 3 a
bottle in the Boijmans Van Beuningen
Museum, Rotterdam 4 and another in the
Lindenau-Museum, Altenburg; 5 an example in
the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York;
and two bottles belonging to the Hodroff
collection in the Henry Francis du Pont
Winterthur Museum, Delaware 6 (volume III).
1 Jörg, 1995, p. 60, no. 24.
2 Ströber, 2001, p. 84, no. 35.
3 Idem
,
ibid
.
, pp. 84–85.
4 Jörg, ibid., pp. 59–60.
5 Holter, 1998, no. 86.
6 Fuchs II, 2005, pp. 166–67, no. 106.