Painted Enamel Handle Kettle with Framed Space
3 min readPainted Enamel Handle Kettle with Framed Space was made by the Imperial Affairs Administration in Qianlong Period, which is the rare treasure of painting enamel. Its shape imitates western pot, but the color and style of decorative pattern are completely with Chinese characteristics. With eight edges, this kettle has gold-gilt copper body. On the kettle body, eight sides are all applied with white glaze as background, decorated with pattern of flfl owers and birds for four seasons and landscape pattern. The kettle bottom is applied with white enamel glaze, and two blue enamel columns are inscribed with dMade in Qianlong Period . There is gold-plated copper frame under the kettle. In the middle of frame, there is a painted enamel octagonal lamp used for ignition and heating the kettle. Lamp base sees the same inscription as that at kettle bottom. This kettle enjoys ingenious design, excellent workmanship, delicate painting of landscape, flowers and birds on the abdomen and bright color. It is a great handicraft blending enamel, glass and gold plating.
Landscape Painting in Painted Enamel Handle Pot with Framed Space
This landscape painting depicts the towering mountains, green lake and the hidden remote mountains. In the painting, a boat draws near to small riverside pavilion from a distance to impress people with “a canoe already passes by thousands of mountains”. Many people converge in two layers of this pavilion. They have a rest, and enjoy the beautiful landscape of lakes and mountains. The man at the fore and the small boat on the water surface also imperceptibly feat people’s eyes.
Painting of Flowers and Birds in Painted Enamel Handle Pot with Framed Space
A male pheasant and a female pheasant leisurely rest on a broken rock. A full-blown tree is beside the rock, on which red, yellow and blue flfl owers bloom up.
Framed Space
Framed space is decorative method commonly used in jewelry enamel, carved lacquerware, ceramics and other arts and crafts works. In order to make decorative patterns of these utensils varied or highlight a certain image, when craftsmen makes models, they often reserve circular space in the shape of fan, banana leaf, diamond, heart, peach, etc. When the model is fifi xed, patterns and designs are painted inside.
Introduction of painted enamel
Painted enamel technology was invented by the Europeans in the 15th century. In the late 17th century, this technique was introduced by the western missionaries and merchants to China. In Guangzhou, the earliest fifi red products were born. At that time, such technology introduced from the West was called as “foreign enamel” or “Guangdong Enamel ” in the Chinese Mainland. Initially, painted enamel was fired for export purpose. In the late Kangxi Period, as foreign missionaries worked in the court, painted enamel process also spread to the court, which was favored by emperors and nobles.
Enamelware
Enamelware is mainly composed of quartz, clay, borax, lead and materials, which is silicate object. With red copper as body, multicolored pattern is fifi red. Enamelware is glittering like jewelry, colorful like rainbow and brilliant like gold. According to different production technology, enamelware generally falls into two categories: 1) fifi ligree enamel (i.e., “Jewelry Enamel”) and 2) painted enamel. In the late 13th century and the early 17th century, these two technologies successively developed in China under the impact of foreign culture. In the time-honored history of Chinese arts and craft, they are the youngest new varieties.
