Qing dynasty, Qianlong (1735-95) mark and period
Moonflask with design of dragon and flaming pearl.
porcelain with underglaze blue and red decoration, 30.5 cm
Purchased 1964.

The purity of the porcelain body, the attainment of form and the vitality of colour and design combine is this splendid example of imperial porcelain. The underglaze copper red was restricted to official wares due to expense and difficulty of manufacture.

Imperial porcelain

The English word 'porcelain' derives from the Portuguese porcellana, meaning 'cowrie shell' in reference to the translucent whiteness of the high-fired Chinese wares coveted for centuries in the West (Europe did not discover the secret of making porcelain until the 1700s). The very best porcelains, esteemed for their quality of body, glaze, form and decoration, were created under the patronage of the demanding and extravagant imperial courts during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Chinese potters had succeeded in making a high-fired whiteware, fired to about 1200ºc, as early as the Shang dynasty (c1700-1027 BCE). But it was in the southern province of Jiangxi in the 1100s that potters discovered they could use local clays to produce an extremely refined translucent whiteware. The kiln complex of Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province became the source of all imperial porcelain, which was then shipped to the imperial capital, the Forbidden City, in Beijing. The number, colour and type of porcelain used at court was strictly regulated, and manufactured only at imperial kilns. Specific wares were made for general or ceremonial use as well as for imperial gifts. Porcelains for use by the ruling and merchant classes, for export within the region and from the 1500s for European markets were manufactured at separate, non-imperial kilns. Technical developments, coupled with changing tastes, saw the gradual expansion of the decorative repertoire of Chinese porcelain. An initial taste for a white, undecorated body with glazes melding to exquisite effect shifted to porcelain decorated in underglaze cobalt blue. This was to remain an enduring favourite. Subsequent developments witnessed the use of varying types of overglaze polychrome enamel decoration that became more and more elaborate with the passage of time.