Riding the wind of rebirth

Chapter 1630: Ming Siqing Thirty-two Cups

Another important specific reason is that Tang Ying retired after the 21st year of Qianlong's reign. From then on, the high-end white porcelain presented for enamel painting became less and less, and it was completely discontinued in the late period. The Qing Palace enamel finally ended its glorious and short artistic life.

Enamel was also used in the official kilns of the later Jiaqing and Daoguang periods, but it was limited to border decoration or local use, and they were all imitations of Jingdezhen kilns. They were not even a little bit inferior to the porcelain enamelware produced by the enamel workshops in the palace.

Fortunately, when you are poor, you have to change, and change will lead to success.

One of these three cups is in the shape of a horseshoe cup, one is a lotus seed cup, and one is a high-foot cup. All three are traditional tribute porcelain styles, and the patterns are inherited from the Sanduo cups and other patterns of the Kangxi and Yongzheng periods, but the color material has become the Dacheng enamel of the Qianlong period.

In fact, pastel was invented since the Yongzheng period. The effect of later painting is comparable to that of enamelware. However, the reason for the improvement in quality is not from the improvement of color materials, but the quality of the body of the ware has been greatly improved. An excellent white material called "glass white" was used as the base.

With the glass white base, the porcelain painting effect can rival that of enamelware, which not only greatly reduces the cost, but can also be produced directly in Jingdezhen.

From then on, the expensive and mysterious enamel color was quickly replaced by it, and the once glorious enamel color withdrew from the stage of history. Famille rose porcelain began to show strong vitality and broad development prospects in the Qianlong Dynasty, becoming the mainstream of colored porcelain. Not only official kilns, but also private kilns began to produce it in large quantities.

Although the cost was reduced, the craftsmanship of the tribute porcelain in the official kiln was still very meticulous. Although the three cups are all painted in pastel, they each have their own characteristics.

The goblet is decorated with the traditional Fulian Huiwen pattern, with a bright yellow cloud pattern on the bottom filled with pastels, and green banana leaf patterns and blue banana fan patterns surrounding the foot of the cup. Above that is a circle of bright red, and further up is a pink palindrome on a yellow background. Several patterns fill the foot of the cup.

At the bottom of the cup is a yellow, green and pink lotus seat, with a circle of pink and a circle of yellow on it, transitioning from the bottom of the cup to the side. The upper and lower sides are separated by Kui patterns and Kui pattern ring patterns, and the middle is filled with lotus, passion flower and Fu lotus in a circle. Finally, the upper and lower cup edges and bottom edges are outlined with thin red lines to mark the boundary between the upper and lower patterns, leaving the rim white.

The interior of the cup is white, and there are lotus patterns on the bottom that match the color and pattern of the cup.

All the patterns are outlined using the "rolling and filling" technique, where delicate patterns are first engraved on part or all of the object, and then various patterns are added. This technique is difficult and labor-intensive, but it looks magnificent, so it is known as "the icing on the cake."

If this goblet still has some blank space, the remaining two pastel cups are completely full of color.

The lotus seed cup has a closed mouth and gets its name from its shape like a lotus seed when viewed from the side. The technique used for this cup is a very traditional porcelain painting technique from the Qianlong period, called "Ten Thousand Flowers Never Fall to the Ground."

"Ten Thousand Flowers Falling to the Ground" means that the painting is made up of various flowers. The flowers are so dense that you can't see the color of the bottom of the cup, hence the name.

The colors used are even more colorful, and the inside and bottom of the cup are filled with beautiful turquoise green. There is no trace of glass white in the entire cup. This kind of porcelain is also called "green-lined ware" or "green-lined pastel".

The last remaining horseshoe cup has a lipped rim, a deep belly, and a shallow ring foot. It is shaped like an inverted horseshoe, with a thin body and moist glaze. It is a doucai cup that "pays tribute" to the Chenghua Dynasty.

Although the decoration is slightly simpler than the first two Qianlong cups, it is only slightly simpler. Compared with the real Chenghua cups, it is much more complicated. The outer wall is painted with five round flowers in blue, red, green and yellow, with broken branches of pomegranates dotted in between. The foot is decorated with variant Ruyi patterns. The decoration of the whole vessel is well arranged and the color is finely filled. The blue and white underglaze and the various colors on the glaze complement each other.

Compared with Chenghua, this cup is more exquisitely made, with richer pattern layout and color, softer and smoother glaze, and the subject matter and pattern are unique patterns that only appeared in the Qianlong Imperial Kiln. Because of its outstanding quality, it was confidently inscribed with the six-character three-line seal script "Made in the Qianlong Period of the Qing Dynasty" instead of the consignment mark, as the standard official kiln mark.

All three cups are very characteristic of the Qianlong period, and one can fully see the nutrients they absorbed and the norms they inherited from the previous dynasty. If the four Ming Dynasty cups can be regarded as a classic "start" in colored porcelain, then these three cups are the best "summary".

In total, Zhou Zhi unearthed a total of Chenghua Doucai horseshoe cup with grape pattern, Xuande Doucai conical hat cup with flower and butterfly pattern, Jiaqing Doucai figure jar cup, Wanli blue and white five-color lotus seed cup with baby playing pattern; Kangxi Doucai bell cup with twelve flower gods orchid, peony and lotus; Yongzheng enamel-painted porcelain clock with apricot blossoms, willow and swallows on the wall, Qing Yongzheng enamel-painted porcelain clock with bamboo, plum and sparrows on the wall; Qianlong famille rose high-foot cup with lotus pattern, famille rose lotus seed cup with a thousand flowers falling to the ground, and Doucai round flower horseshoe cup.

There are twelve small cups from the four dynasties of Ming Dynasty and the three dynasties of Qing Dynasty. None of them are big, but each one is amazing.

"This collector is remarkable." An Siyuan smoked his pipe and concluded, "Do you have any information about the collector?"

"There is some information in the country. It seems to be the belongings of a military strategist in the Republic of China, but Mr. Qi did not elaborate." Zhou Zhi said: "Mr. An, I want to go back as soon as possible."

"The procedures for the two Heavenly King statues have also been completed." An Siyuan said, "But you may need to go through the procedures for these cups again."

"Yes, if we only rely on the wax seal of the airport auction, it will be difficult to explain." Zhou Zhi knew that although these things theoretically legally belonged to him, if their value was too high, he would likely be troubled.

"Don't you have a lawyer?" An Siyuan said with a smile, "Professional matters should be left to professionals. It's a simple matter to let Tony Huang and Zhong Jin help you."

"Ah, they just happen to be busy with the Dragon and Phoenix Heavenly King's coming out of seclusion," Zhou Zhi was happy, "Why not take my things along with them."

There are many speculations about the two warrior statues. Some say they are of Shentu and Yulei, and some say they are of Qin Qiong and Yuchi Gong. There is no consensus. Now the country tends to name them "Panlong Heavenly King Statue" and "Wufeng Heavenly King Statue" to highlight the two major features on the back and upper part of the statues. The media and the public have become accustomed to calling them "Dragon and Phoenix Heavenly King".

"You're not going to attend my auction?" An Siyuan asked again.

"I'm really sorry. It's still the Lunar New Year and my family wants me to go back to reunite. I've been in New York for a long time." Zhou Zhi said regretfully, "I also have two paintings by Shi Lu. I won't participate this time. I will definitely come to participate when the auction of Mr. Shi's Yaozhou kiln porcelain begins."

"Young people should go out more often, don't be like me now, unable to run anymore and having to wait for goods to be delivered to your door, then regret not having been to many places."

"Sir, you are my role model. You have put a lot of effort into collecting all the glaze colors of the Yaozhou kiln." Zhou Zhi said, "But these collections will be scattered at the next auction. Would you consider it?"

An Siyuan smiled: "George, I'm just a businessman."