A Chinese Blue and White Pot Pourri and Cover BH10

A Chinese Blue and White Pot Pourri and Cover.

Of circular section, the deep sides supported on three gilt animal claw feet, set with a pair of gilt arched foliate handles, the body decorated in shades of underglaze blue with large floral bouquets of various blooms including peony, surrounded by smaller floral sprays, all below a scrollwork border just below the rim, the sloping cover surmounted by a flat, disc-like top, with reticulated decoration around the rim and a band of pierced cash diaper surrounding the spherical openwork finial, further decorated in underglaze blue with a band of floral and honeycomb diaper around the rim, the reticulated work outlined in iron red and painted in gold, the base plain.

Period: Qianlong (1736-1795).

Footnote: For an almost identical pot pourri and cover, see: Pinto de Matos, The RA Collection of Chinese Ceramics: A Collector’s Vision, Volume Two, number 283, inv. no. 410, in which the author notes that: ‘This type of pot pourri or perfume burner was usually adapted with a metal container for burning charcoal and scented pastilles’.

The cover of this pot pourri is an example of ‘reticulated’ porcelain, which is characterised by intricate cuts creating a pierced pattern. Père Francois Xavier d`Entrecolles (1664-1741) used the term reticulated in the 18th century to describe porcelain that had the appearance of a net. An alternative term for this type of porcelain is ‘Devils Work’, or Guigong. The Chinese term ‘Linglong’ is also used.

Dimensions

Price on application

This object is eligible for a Certificate of BADA Provenance

Stock number