Earle D. Vandekar of Knightsbridge, Inc. Jars

Collection of Five Chinese Export 'Batavia-ware' and Famille Rose Jars and Covers Qianlong Period, China, Circa 1750s This handsome collection of five graduated covered jars is a magnificent and rare example of mid-18th-century Chinese Export porcelain, illustrating the highly successful fusion of Chinese ceramic technology and European market demand during the height of the global trade era. ________________________________________ Description and Aesthetic Medium: Porcelain with underglaze brown glaze and overglaze Famille Rose enamels. Period: Qianlong (1736–1795). Origin: Jingdezhen kilns, China, made for the European export market. The collection comprises two large, two medium, and one small jar, intended to be displayed together as a garniture—a decorative set prized for mantelpieces and cabinets in opulent European interiors. • The 'Batavia' Ground: Each piece is characterized by a luxurious, deep chocolate-brown glaze covering the exterior, a distinctive aesthetic known historically as "Batavia-ware" or descriptively as café au lait. This rich, monochrome ground was achieved by bathing the porcelain in an iron-rich slip before glazing and firing. • The Famille Rose Reserves: The dark ground provides a dramatic backdrop for finely painted, leaf-shaped reserves (panels). These panels are adorned with exquisite floral sprays executed in the vibrant Famille Rose palette (meaning "pink family"), which was introduced to China from Europe in the early 18th century. The opaque enamels—dominated by the rose-pink created from colloidal gold—allow for subtle shading and realism, brilliantly depicting the peony (mudan), the Chinese flower of wealth, nobility, and honor. • The Covers: The domed covers maintain this contrast, with a high, lustrous brown glaze broken by Famille Rose floral sprays that echo the motifs on the body. ________________________________________ Historical Context: Global Trade and Naming The name "Batavia-ware" is a crucial historical reference, even though the porcelain was manufactured in the kilns of Jingdezhen. 1. The Dutch East India Company (VOC): Batavia (modern-day Jakarta, Indonesia) served as the fortified administrative and trading headquarters of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in Asia. 2. The Trade Route: Porcelain destined for the European market was collected from various Chinese ports and then centrally transshipped through Batavia. This particular style became famously associated with that major transit port among Western collectors, hence the name, which links the sophisticated manufacturing of China to the powerful trade infrastructure of the Dutch. 3. 18th-Century Opulence: Garnitures like this were highly desirable statements of wealth and worldliness in 18th-century Europe. Their acquisition signified participation in the exotic, global market and a cosmopolitan taste capable of appreciating the high technical and artistic quality of Chinese porcelain. The successful combination of the deep, rich brown glaze—which evokes a feeling of luxurious Eastern lacquer or polished wood—with the delicate, luminous European-inspired Famille Rose palette represents a brilliant convergence of East-West artistic demands at the height of the Qianlong Emperor’s reign. ________________________________________ Dimensions Largest Jar: 7 1/2 inches high x 7 1/2 inches diameter; Second Jar: 7 1/4 inches high x 6 1/2 inches diameter; Third Jar: 5 1/2 inches high x 5 inches diameter; Pair of Smaller Jars...

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