What does famille verte mean?

It refers to a specific colour palette used on Chinese porcelain. The term translates from French as green family, because translucent green enamel dominates the decoration. Other colours like iron red and aubergine purple are usually mixed in to complete the pattern. The enamels were painted over the glaze and fired a second time at a lower heat.

Why is the base unglazed?

Potters left the foot ring bare so the piece would not stick to the floor of the kiln. If glaze ran all the way under, the item would fuse to the grit during the firing process.

Does finding a four character mark on the bottom of a blue and white vase mean it was made for the emperor?

Four and six character marks are very common on antique Kangxi pieces, but they rarely mean the item was destined for the imperial court. Export kilns copied these marks constantly to make their goods look more prestigious to foreign buyers. In fact, many pieces bear the mark of the earlier Ming dynasty emperor Chenghua. The Kangxi potters admired that period so much they used the old reign mark as a tribute to past quality.

When shipping all this porcelain to Europe on boats, how did they stop it from smashing to pieces during rough storms?

Merchants packed the porcelain deep in the hold beneath lighter cargo. They used tightly bound bundles of sago or packed the gaps with raw tea leaves to cushion the ceramics. If water leaked into the hold, the tea would swell up and lock everything tightly in place. This method protected the fragile wares on a journey that could take over a year.

0

56,091 PAGES BROWSED TODAY PAGES TODAY • 0 ANTIQUES UPLOADED TODAY NEW ARRIVALS

Sorted by

Per page

DEALER LOGIN

Kangxi

Sort Order

Items Per Page

Antique Ceramics

Antique Kangxi

← Page 2 of 2 →

Antique Kangxi refers to Chinese porcelain produced during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor from 1662 to 1722, designed both for the imperial court and a massive export market to hold everything from tea to floral displays.

Chinese Kangxi Period (1644 - 1722) Porcelain Wine Ewer

17th century

Save

Chinese Kangxi Period (1644 - 1722) Porcelain Wine Ewer

From Original Retro

£2,750

APPROVED 3+ MONTHS AGO

ceramics

Chinese, Blue & White Porcelain, Lidded 'Cranes' Bottle, Kangxi 1661-1722

18th century

Save

Chinese, Blue & White Porcelain, Lidded 'Cranes' Bottle, Kangxi 1661-1722

From Original Retro

£1,250

APPROVED 3+ MONTHS AGO

ceramics

← 1 2 →

66,727

Antiques For Sale

0

Antiques Approved Today

3,069

Antique Uploads This Month

56,091

Page Views Today

440,777

Total Antiques Sold

Antique Kangxi

Chinese Kangxi Period (1644 - 1722) Porcelain Wine Ewer

Chinese, Blue & White Porcelain, Lidded 'Cranes' Bottle, Kangxi 1661-1722

Add keywords to the filter

Price

Era

Movements

Material

Origin

Stock Location

Freshness

Online Payments

Categories