A pair of square Chinese porcelain vases painted in famille rose enamels. With gently tapered, cuboid body on a smaller square foot, flat shoulder and tubular neck, having on either side, in applied relief, a spray of fruiting peach with a bat, the spreading mouth with turned-over rim. On each face is a different, finely painted landscape within a gilt frame, on a ground of bright yellow decorated in reserve, with a lotus scroll and formal pendants on the corners, a key-fret border in blue round the foot, and a wavy fretwork border above. The neck is decorated in a rich blue ground between the peach appliqués, with feathery sprays of hibiscus, orchid, peony and camellia, with ruyi-head border round the rim. The four-character reign-mark is written within a square, in blue enamel, Qianlong nianzhi (‘Made in the reign of the Qianlong emperor’) on the base.

The introduction of the famille rose enamelling style was encouraged by the Kangxi emperor’s liking for painted enamels on copper. A workshop set up within the Forbidden City made use of an imported crimson-pink enamel derived from gold, and an opaque white, which together facilitated an entire range of new soft and shaded tints. Manchu imperial taste is reflected in the creation for the court of porcelain bowls with flowers depicted on brilliantly coloured grounds, which continued to be made in successive reigns. The use of coloured grounds combined with finely painted designs remained a feature of court wares of the Qianlong and later periods. Meanwhile, quantities of famille rose decorated wares were made for export to the West, including vases, figure models and table wares. Some were shaped or decorated to order with armorial and other designs.

Text adapted from Chinese and Japanese Works of Art in the Collection of Her Majesty The Queen: Volume I.