Tongzhi

(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.