Traditional Chinese Ceramic Craft----Enameled Porcelain
Painted porcelain represents another innovative glazed ceramic technique developed by the Qing imperial court alongside enamel painting. After firing the body and glaze, an arsenic-containing powder base is applied. Following the application of pigments, a brush is used to wash them out. Due to the etching effect of arsenic, the colours develop a powdery finish. Among the vast array of Qing court powder-colour porcelains, Empress Dowager Cixi's pieces stand out for their bold, unrestrained brushwork and rich, opulent hues, embodying a distinctive grandeur. The Peony and Red Bird Vase epitomises this style. Later, Yuan Shikai proclaimed himself emperor in late 1915, adopting the era name “Hongxian.” This symbolised his vision of a grand legal system, advocating for a new national life characterised by fairness and transparency. Following tradition, new emperors required specially fired porcelain tributes upon ascension. Yuan Shikai's powder-colored Yuhuchun vase employed porcelain stone as its body, mould-formed with a uniform, thin, translucent material. Yuan's porcelain entirely lost the inherent vitality of ancient ceramic bodies, relying solely on pigments and techniques—like applying makeup to a corpse, devoid of holistic vitality.
The wash and tint techniques in decorative painting on pastel porcelain draw inspiration from sister arts, employing stippling and colour-layering methods. This approach lends subjects—be they figures, landscapes, flowers, or birds and insects—a strong sense of texture, clear light and shadow, and distinct layers. The techniques employed encompass meticulous, finely detailed rendering characteristic of gongbi painting; the free-flowing, expressive brushwork of xieyi painting; and the exaggerated, stylised approach of decorative art. It even integrates elements from sister arts like printmaking, watercolour, and oil painting. The result is exquisite precision in minute details and vibrant, dynamic energy in bold strokes. The process of painting with pastel pigments typically involves multiple stages: sketching, transferring the sketch, preparing the design, transferring the design onto the porcelain, outlining with lines, applying pigments, filling in colours, and washing and staining. The phase from sketching to transferring the design onto the porcelain is crucial for conceptualisation and creative development—it's the stage where the decorative content and composition are finalised. The finalised design for formal painting is termed “pattern transfer.” Transferring the pattern traced with dense ink onto the porcelain is called “pattern making.” Subsequently, the patterned paper with ink lines is transferred onto the porcelain body to be painted, known as “pattern imprinting,” enabling the commencement of porcelain painting. The techniques for outlining and colouring in enamel painting are relatively complex and meticulous, generally involving methods such as drawing, colouring, filling, washing, scraping, blowing, and dotting. The tools used include numerous specialised brushes such as drawing brushes, filling brushes, washing brushes, colouring brushes, stippling brushes, red gold brushes, gold-water brushes, agate brushes, and scraping brushes.
As early as the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty, the art of overglaze enamel painting on porcelain began to take root; by the Yongzheng period, it had matured and developed a distinctive style of enamel decoration; during the Qianlong era, enamel painting flourished greatly. The artistic effect of pink-and-white porcelain excels in its delicate elegance and soft, rosy hues. This is inseparable from the pure white, exquisite porcelain body, with the two elements mutually enhancing each other, creating a harmonious interplay and forming an organic union.
After the Xinhai Revolution overthrew the Qing Dynasty and established the Republic of China, the imperial kilns exclusively producing porcelain for the royal family ceased operations. The national porcelain industry underwent reforms, with numerous porcelain companies established. To meet the demands of both domestic and international markets for Chinese porcelain, a large number of antique-style porcelain pieces emerged during the early years of the Republic. From Six Dynasties celadon to renowned Tang, Five Dynasties, and Song kiln pieces, as well as typical Ming and Qing imperial kiln wares, virtually nothing escaped imitation—and these replicas were remarkably lifelike. Vast quantities of Republican-era imitations still circulate today, with many even finding their way overseas. Consequently, Republican-period replicas merit thorough scholarly investigation. Among these, pink-glazed porcelain constituted a major production category. The finest examples of Republican-era pink-glazed porcelain were primarily those imitating Yongzheng and Qianlong-period pieces by Guo Shiwu, along with those bearing the Zhaidang mark. Next in quality were pieces from private collections that were either unmarked or bore forged marks from various Qing dynasty reigns, as well as so-called Hongxian porcelain.
The Palace Museum also houses a pink-enameled vase specially crafted by Guo Shiwu for his own collection. Standing approximately 30 centimeters tall, it features a flared rim, slender neck, sloping shoulders, rounded body, and ring foot. The decoration primarily adorns the lower section of the vase, depicting blooming flowers alongside grasshoppers and butterflies. Examples include the Quince and Chrysanthemum with Butterflies vase, the Lily with Grasshoppers and Butterflies vase, the Orchid and Lingzhi Mushroom vase, the Peony vase, the Rose vase, and the Plum Blossom and Bamboo vase. Two types of marks appear on the base: one in blue-and-white regular script reading “Made in the Year of the Yongzheng Reign of the Great Qing,” and another in red enamel seal script inscribed with the three characters “Guo Shiwu.” These imitation Yongzheng pink-and-white vases all feature a white glaze with a bluish tint. Their colors range from vivid to delicate, presenting a pleasing overall effect that captures the essence of authentic Yongzheng pink-and-white porcelain. Upon closer inspection, the interior of the foot rim reveals significant pinholes. The blue pigment tends toward a blackish-gray hue, and the surface of the colors lacks a smooth, lustrous finish. Compared to genuine Yongzheng pink-and-white porcelain, these replicas fall short.
Above introduction comes from the Baidu webpage.