Chinese porcelain cachepot mounted on bronze under the Regency

Chinese porcelain cachepot mounted on bronze under the Regency

Rare Chinese porcelain cachepot of the green family*.

The decoration of shrubs (peonies, prunus, chrysanthemums...) on rocky mounds is presented in four reserves delimited by nets topped with butterflies.
The bronze mounting, gilded with an "English varnish", consists of a base and a high ring with friezes of gadroons, linked together by arabesques "à la Bérain" ending with fixed handles.
Good condition, a slight crack at the neck, probably when cutting the porcelain.

Small wear to the gilding.

Porcelain of the green family, China, Jiangxi Province, imperial kilns of Jingdezhen, reign of the Kangxi emperor around 1700.

The gilt bronze mount, Paris, Regency period (1715-1723).

Dimensions:

Height: 18 cm; Width: 23 cm.

-A pair of Kangxi period green family porcelain covered vases with a regency bronze mounting very similar to our model is in the Getty Museum in Los Angeles.
(N° Inv 75.DI.5)

*The term "green family", originally French but also adopted in English-speaking countries, was given by Albert Jacquemart (1808-1875) in 1862 in his book Histoire artistique, industrielle et commerciale de la Porcelaine. It is simply due to the predominance in the decoration of green enamels, derived from copper carbonate, which are affixed and fired a second time at a temperature of 800°C on a porcelain already enamelled with white.
The pieces of this family date mainly from the end of the Kangxi era (1662-1723), the time of their apogee as they were appreciated by the emperor.

Our opinion :

The piece we present is made of Chinese porcelain, exported to Europe by the all-powerful Dutch East India Company, and a bronze frame made in Paris at the request of a merchant specialized in the luxury trade.
Just like oriental lacquer, porcelain was diverted from its utilitarian use, and cut to give it a more European shape, to be then "mounted" as a work of art.
It is necessary for a good understanding to recall that these two materials were practically unknown in Europe at the beginning of the 18th century, and that the multiple attempts to copy them were not crowned with a frank success.
It was only in 1768 that the discovery of Kaolin near Limoges allowed for a French production of hard porcelain.
This material that the Chinese have mastered for centuries has very sought after qualities. Unlike metal, it resists heat, allows you to drink very hot liquids without burning your hands, and has a smooth surface that is easily cleanable and does not retain bacteria.
But it is especially its decorative potential that attracted Europeans, because porcelain "white as snow and melting like ice" allows a multitude of decorations, plain or multicolored, with drips, enamels, incised decorations in the paste under the cover, or which imitates celadon jade etc.
If during the entirety of the old regime, porcelain, even French, was reserved for an elite, the first mounted pieces, marketed at the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century are reserved for the princely courts.
It is quite amusing to note that the inventories after the death of great personalities of the kingdom describe collections made up of only three or four pieces of porcelain or old lacquers, as the prices were astronomical at that time.
The piece we are presenting has a very beautiful melting glaze, with delicate translucent enamels, and a light and well thought out mounting that highlights the porcelain.
In our opinion, this type of object constitutes the quintessence of French taste.