(1862-1874) The Qing (Manchu) dynasty’s ninth emperor and the shortest Chinese imperial reign began when Tongzhi became emperor at age 5 and died at 19. His mother Empress Dowager Cixi sat behind a curtain in the audience hall and ruled the kingdom. Under this reign there were some attempts at political reforms known as the Tongzhi Restoration. Our pieces from this period consist of blue and white underglaze porcelains and high-fired coral red glazed pieces with orange saffron tones appearing during various reigns but were especially during the Tongzhi Period. This includes bowls, vases and hat stands, all simply made shapes whose firings resulted in orange-red and saffron colors. Often with a monotone color on the outside, gold linear decorations and/or lines of gold calligraphy were often painted over the glaze and the interiors were normally white.
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This charming miniature ewer or small pitcher was made during the Tongzhi Period 1856-1875) and used to pour soy sauce, oils or other liquids. The spout and handle are elegantly curved and thick cobalt blue designs are set on a spotted grey ground with a chrysanthemum on each side and abstract plantain curved vertical leaf…
Chrysanthemum and bindweed decorative motifs are often used deigns on surfaces of underglaze cobalt blue and white porcelains, were especially popular in the 1860s – 1880s during the Tongzhi period and appear on both domestic and export ceramic pieces. Since bindweed grows wrapped around pine trees, it is a symbol of the close attachments formed…
Scenes with landscapes, distant mountains, bodies of water and architectural structures in nature are common subjects in the Chinese aesthetic and closely related to the scholar’s beliefs and their way of life that includes Four Scholarly Pursuits (siyi) and Four Treasures of the Scholar’s Studio. The three main Chinese belief systems of Taoism, Confucianism and…
This gorgeous porcelain ewer is covered in a saffron glaze, also called red coral glazed porcelain, created by potters in the Qing dynasty as a variety of new glazes at that time including a new coral red variety known as shan hu hong. This low-fired iron red glaze had a yellow tinge resembling the color…
Blue and White porcelain was first made in China during the Yuan dynasty and its production increased during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Before that, ceramics fired at lower temperatures were every day functional-and-utilitarian pieces using inexpensive clays and colors made in quantities for the poor. Because porcelain was superior to other ceramics, a huge…
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