Object Description
A pair of large Canton style famille jaune porcelain vases
Chinese, Late 19th Century
Height 120cm, diameter 42cm
These large and impressive vases are a pair of Canton-style famille jaune porcelain pieces, decorated with various and extensive motifs of Chinese courtly life. Their form, ‘mallet-shaped,’ with a long ovoid baluster body, waisted neck and flared rim, is typical of such pieces, and two pairs of dogs facing each other are mounted on the vases’ necks, with dragons applied on the front.
Scenes of court life are shown in a series of four square panels. Executed on yellow ground, thus a subcategory of famille verte porcelain, the colour palette used is primarily yellow and green, yet the works are enlivened and heightened by the use of blues and reds, decorating their myriad of motifs with a vast array of colour and warmth. These pieces constitute excellent examples of the skill and quality of crafts in Chinese around the turn of the twentieth century.