Dish with plants and butterflies
Date1662-1722
PeriodQing dynasty, reign of Kangxi
CultureChinese
MediumPorcelain with overglaze enamels
ClassificationCeramics
Credit LineGift of Ira and Nancy Koger, 2001
Object numberSN11122.248
Delicately painted butterflies flutter over flowering plants and rocks, while beetles and grasshoppers perch and nibble on the greenery below. This sensitive and idyllic evocation of nature up close is an example of famille verte (“green family”) porcelain, a new product developed by the imperial workshops of Jingdezhen after they were rebuilt by the Qing in 1677. Famille verte enamels, a palette of green, red, black, yellow, and blue, are applied to glazed porcelain ahead of secondary firings. This represented a major technological achievement, as in the past, blue had to be applied as an underglaze and the translucent enamels tended to run when melted in the kiln. These wares were exported in vast quantities to Europe, where they were prized.
On View
On viewLocation
DimensionsOverall: 2 1/2 × 13 1/2 in. (6.4 × 34.3 cm)- Center for Asian Art, 2nd floor, Galleria
1662-1722
1662-1722
mid 16th century
1522-1566
1662–1722