Description
Description: A Chinese vase covered with a slightly matte, silky, milky-white Tianbai glaze, the body finely decorated with Anhua incised four-clawed dragons among flaming clouds, pursuing the sacred pearl. The vase is of a very rare shape, being the only one that we have found with this exact shape, besides bearing a rare glaze. (For “Anhua” and Tianbai”, see the Notes below).
Dating: Kangxi period.
Size: 38.7 cm high
Provenance: Antiquarian market
References: See in the last three pictures: a tianbai glazed Kangxi dish with anhua dragons decoration, a tianbai glazed Kangxi bowl with anhua dragons decoration, and an original, extremely rare tianbai glazed meiping vase of the Yongle period, with anhua decoration, which Lot Essay is describing very well the historical context of tianbai glaze.
Notes: “Anhua (Chinese: 暗花) is a term used in Chinese ceramics meaning secret, or hidden, veiled decoration; the decoration is made by incising the porcelain body before glazing it, and it is visible at close inspection, or better through transmitted light.
“Tianbai” (Sweet white) is a type of glaze developed during the Yongle period. It is mainly based on the same material of the body, with a very low content of ash fluxing. Due to this, it has a soft matte texture, and lower light transmissibility, which makes it particularly suitable for the anhua, or hidden, decoration. It had a great favor during the Yongle and Xuande reigns, and witnessed a resurgence during the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong periods. The Lot Essay text in the last picture is describing very well the historical context of this glaze.
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