Our Spring Collection represents a shift of focus towards ceramic and porcelain wares, particularly those of Jingdezhen. Although not the exclusive content of our new collection, ceramics here provide the mainstay of the group, giving a sense of the great formal varieties of the material so often seen as synonymous with Chinese culture. So much has already been written about Jingdezhen and the vast complex of commercial, private as well as imperial kilns, it is perhaps unsurprising that it is often called the ‘Porcelain Capital’. In fact, ceramic production in Jingdezhen has been ongoing for more than 1,700 years.
Highlights this season include Imperial Pursuit, produced at the Jingdezhen imperial kilns between 1821 and 1850. This remarkable bottle of moulded form had been intricately painted in green, black and iron-red enamels to depict a five-clawed dragon in pursuit of a flaming pearl. The foot inscribed with in seal script Daoguang nian zhi 道光年製 or ‘made in the Daoguang era’. Formally the Ko, J&J and Joseph Grimberg collection, respectively.
Another fine example What Katy Did comprises an unusually pale palette of famille rose enamels on Jingdezhen porcelain, the soften tones used here setting it apart from other similar bottles of this popular imperial series. Both sides depict a katydid in slightly different poses, charmingly drawn with fluid and detailed line.
Alongside the Jingdezhen bottles in our collection, we also include a superb example of stoneware from Yixing, Jiangsu Provence, the area perhaps best known for its distinctively coloured clay and subsequent manufacture of tea ware since the Song Dynasty. Three further bottles demonstrate a particular glaze technique known as Cha ye mo or tea-dust which was first produced at the Yaozhu kilns during the Tang Dynasty and initially applied to forms that resembled bronze vessels. In acknowledgement of this, we include here two interesting examples of bronze snuff bottles, which complete the groups ‘arts of the fire’ thematic.