bavarikon4UNotice
This object originates from colonial contexts and demands an examination of colonial history. bavarikon is displaying this object in order to enable and promote, among other things, a critical, sensitive examination of colonial history. As the operator of bavarikon, the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (Bavarian State Library) would like to point out that the acquisition of the object by the acquiring or holding institution or its predecessors or by persons may have been unethical or unlawful by contemporary standards.
Description
The large porcelain plate was made in the city of Jingdezhen in China during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The bright, heavy body is covered with a bluish-white, transparent glaze. The entire surface of the plate was painted with bright, light to dark washed blue underglaze.
The decoration shows a pair of phoenixes (fenghuang) on a rock. Above them are flowering peony and camellia branches, grasses, insects and another bird. The outside of the plate is decorated with two bamboo branches in the style of bamboo painting. The underside of the plate is glazed white and contains small impurities. The plate’s base rim is unglazed. On the bottom of the plate is a mark in seal script painted in underglaze blue in a square in a double ring.
The plate was made either during the Shunzi period (1644-1661) or during the subsequent Kangxi period (1661-1722). Based on comparisons with similar pieces from other collections that date from the Kangxi period, it is considered more likely that the plate was produced for export during this period. So-called export porcelain was produced in China for the European market. A well-known exporter was the Dutch East India Company. Inspired by Chinese blue and white porcelain imported into the Netherlands, Delft created tin-glazed ceramics called Delft Blue, which imitated the style of Chinese porcelain.