A Qing Dynasty Famille Rose Beaker Vase

A famille rose beaker vase of good scale, the body decorated with shaped cartouches depicting birds amid flowers and trees.

Famille rose, ‘the pink family’, was first introduced to the genre of Chinese ceramics in the first quarter of the 17th century. The palette of soft pinks, yellows and greens on a white, clean background was largely influenced by a European (more specifically French) taste. The Macaron-like shades of the famille rose alined neatly with the mode of the Rococo, fashionable in France at the time. Contrary to the famille verte palette of the previous era, famille rose designs could be fired at a lower temperature, allowing for softer shades to survive the firing process.

This beaker vase combines two different styles of famille rose decorations, thereby creating a three dimensional effect. The panels decorated with birds and flowers are framed by densely layered sections of enamel offsetting the areas against one another.