A Porcelain and its Mark

This porcelain rod vase was produced during the Kangxi period (1661-1722). The painting is done in underglaze blue and copper red, combined with a light green celadon glaze, which was regarded as extremely challenging to achieve.

The bottom of the vase features a six-character mark from the Jiajing period (1522-1566). This mark is described as apocryphal or idealising, as it does not correspond to the period in which the vase was actually made.

Imperial marks were a privilege of the court manufactories and served as a means of quality control. They first appeared at the beginning of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) and continued to be used during the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Marks written in regular script, known as kaishu, typically consisted of four to six characters, indicating the name of the dynasty and the reigning emperor. These characters were often executed in underglaze blue and surrounded by a double blue ring.

During the Kangxi period (1661-1722), porcelains with flaws were temporarily prohibited from bearing an imperial mark by imperial decree. This led to the use of marks like the two blue rings, which remained empty inside, or motifs such as the artemisia leaf. In the Yongzheng period (1723-1735), stamps in seal script, known as zhuanshu, became popular and continued to be used in the 19th century. Count Karl's collection also includes pieces that feature forgeries of imperial marks or marks that were copied with idealising intent.