An Early 18th Century Kangxi Plate with European Silver Handle

A Kangxi Period blue and white plate with ribbed body, decorated with blue and white glazes and having a Dutch silver carrying handle.

The Kangxi Emperor assumed his throne as a child and was in charge of the vast majority of affairs at the age of 15. His knowledge of Chinese history and culture was outstanding and with a natural curiosity he welcomed foreign ideas. However, the literary scholar’s influence on manufacturing art, machinery and objects of everyday life was not only limited to theory. He set up workshops close to his own living quarters to experience first hand how and what his people manufactured. With him started a new era of high-end porcelain, an area which was neglected for decades before he came to power. At this, the idea was to produce traditional pieces of high quality rather than developing new production processes.