An extremely rare famille-rose 'lotus' brushpot, Seal mark and period of Qianlong | 清乾隆 粉彩纏枝蓮紋筆筒 《大清乾隆年製》款

Osaka Private Collection.

大阪私人收藏

This charming, intricately decorated vessel is distinctive for its colorful pastel-toned enamels painted against a white ground. Porcelain brushpots from the Qianlong period (1736-95) were more often found adorned with classical paintings or calligraphies. See, for example, a smaller one inscribed with an imperial poem preserved in the National Palace Museum, Taipei (accession no. gu-ci-016091).

Western designs, such as stylized and symmetrically arranged strapwork, were introduced to the Qing court (1644-1911) during the Kangxi reign (1662-1722). Stylistically, the decoration of the present vessel, which elegantly combines European decorative elements with Chinese auspicious motifs such as stylized lotus and endless knots, is representative of the Qianlong reign. Although famille-rose vessels were decorated on various colored grounds at the time, the use of the white porcelain for the ground is unusual during the Qianlong period. This distinctive palette suggests that the present vase may have been created to individual order rather than as part of a larger series.

Similarly decorated brushpots continued to be appreciated in later reigns; see one of Jiaqing mark and period, but of turquoise ground, hexagonal form and lacking the refinement of the present piece, preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing (accession no. gu-155139).