Chinese Famille Verte Double Happiness Dish, c. 1850

This petite porcelain dish from the mid-19th century is hand-painted with red & green overglaze enamels in the famille verte style. The perfect wedding gift for a newly wed couple, t...

During the 18th century, Europeans provided an eager market for Chinese export porcelain, especially the colorful and fanciful ware known as “famille rose.” Named for a palette of op...

A large and magnificent Chinese famille verte enameled porcelain large dish or charger, Qing Dynasty, Kangxi Period (1662 - 1722), circa 1700, China. The shallow, shaped dish of fo...

Vibrant Prosperity: A Famille Verte 'Flower Basket' Dish from the Kangxi Golden Age This magnificent Chinese Export porcelain dish, dating to the height of the Kangxi Period (c. 1700-1710), is a resplendent example of the famed famille verte (green family) palette. This enameling technique, characterized by its brilliant, translucent greens, yellows, and blues, reached its zenith under the patronage of the Kangxi Emperor, ushering in a golden age of ceramic production at the imperial kilns in Jingdezhen (Guest and Gray). Auspicious Symbolism and Design Mastery The dish is a feast of intricate design and rich symbolism, centered on an openwork beribboned basket of peony and lotus flowers. The flower basket motif is highly auspicious in Chinese art, being one of the attributes of the Daoist Immortal Lan Caihe, and symbolizes longevity and good fortune (Sotheby's, Lot 657, 2015). This meaning is powerfully reinforced by the inclusion of a central shou character (寿) in the basket, the Chinese ideograph for Longevity, a core wish in Chinese culture for a long, healthy, and prosperous life (Metropolitan Museum of Art). The presence of the shou character, often incorporated into designs for Imperial birthday celebrations during this era, underscores the dish's grand and celebratory intent. The radial design radiates outward with petal-shaped reserves in the cavetto, each containing detailed flowering plants issuing from rockwork, all set against a signature pale-green stippled ground (Dizi). The border completes the composition with an ornate pattern of green trellis-work punctuated by iron-red flower heads, alternating with oval panels containing various Precious Objects (Ba Gu), further emphasizing wealth and good fortune. This large dish, at over 14 inches in diameter, was one of the exquisite items commissioned for the European export market, particularly by the Dutch East India Company (VOC), where its vibrant colors and complex iconography were highly prized by wealthy clientele (Guest and Gray). The reverse, painted in underglaze blue with delicate floral sprays, maintains a link to the more traditional Chinese aesthetic. This piece is a tangible embodiment of the technical sophistication and artistic brilliance that made Kangxi famille verte porcelain...