This beautiful petite Famille Verte Rose Enameled teapot dates from the Late Qing Dynasty and was made for the European market. With its smooth unmarred glaze and matching lid this piece offers and excellent example of the classic Famille Rose technique. It is a very delicate piece with gilt details on the spout, handle and lid. The gilding on the lid shows some signs of age related wear.
Size 5" high (to the top of the lid) 5" long (handle to spout)
Antique Chinese Famille Verte Rose Teapot
The famille verte (“green family”) and famille rose (“pink family”) technique date back to the Ming Dynasty, but became formalized in the 16th century into the five-color enamel process dominated by rich, yet translucent, shades of green. The famille rose style followed in the 18th century and was so named for its characteristic opaque pink shade.
Famille rose porcelain, or fencai (粉彩), emerged in China during the Kangxi period of the Qing dynasty (1662–1722) and is celebrated for its vibrant overglaze enamels. This technique introduced a wider palette of soft, opaque colours, including the distinctive rose pink, allowing artisans to create intricate and naturalistic designs. These colours were known to the Chinese as yangcai (“foreign colours”) because they were first introduced from Europe (about 1685). By the time of the reign of Yongzheng (1722–35) in the Qing dynasty (1644–1911/12), these shades were favoured over the translucent famille verte overglaze colours that were previously used and famille rose wares became especially popular during that reign. Perfected in Jingdezhen, the porcelain capital of China, famille rose became highly sought after for its detailed imagery and symbolic motifs, blending traditional Chinese artistry with innovations influenced by Western materials and techniques.
