清康熙 瓷胎黑漆嵌螺鈿花石蝴蝶紋瓶|Vase with decoration of rocks, flowers, and butterflies

Unknown

Date unknown · Black lacquer over porcelain, inlaid with mother-of-pearl · Asian Art

The decorating of porcelain with lacquer and mother-of-pearl exemplifies the inventiveness of Chinese art from the mid-seventeenth to the early eighteenth century. Although the vase is not marked, the shape is common among works produced during the reign of the Kangxi emperor. However, it is not clear if the lacquer and pearl shell were added when the vase was made or slightly later. Vases with this type of decoration are found in some numbers in Europe, where they are often known as laques burgautés,a term that was coined by nineteenth-century French specialists in porcelain and that is frequently, and incorrectly, used to describe works in lacquer with mother-of-pearl decoration.

Artist

Unknown

Date

Date unknown

Medium

Black lacquer over porcelain, inlaid with mother-of-pearl

Culture

China

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Purchase by subscription, 1879