“Sampaio e Melo” Vase
Author: Unknown
Origin: Jingdezhen Kilns, China
Data: 1700-1720 (Qing Dynasty, Kangxi period)
Material: Porcelain
Dimensions (cm): 118 x Ø 52,5
Inv. no.: PD0055
«One of two large pots with lids, made of white porcelain and decorated in cobalt blue, green, yellow, sepia and gold. The decoration is European-themed. It displays the coat of arms of the commissioner: Sampaio e Melo.
The two pots, although similar, do not seem to be a pair. One of them has an erudite painting, in which the scale of the ornaments in relation to the background is balanced, the drawings are carefully outlined with great detail and careful painting […]. The other one has some ornaments out of scale.»
Maria Antónia Pinto Matos
Kangxi period
The Kangxi Emperor was one of the most important in Chinese history. His 61-year reign (1662-1722) was the longest in Chinese History and it consolidated the power of the new Qing dynasty.
In terms of porcelain production, the Kangxi period was both innovative and a continuation of various techniques used in earlier times. A large investment was made in the Jingdezhen manufacturing center, reaching three thousand kilns.
The painting techniques developed during the Ming dynasty reached a great technical refinement during the Kangxi period. Along with the production of “blue and white” porcelain, the Famille Verte was created – displaying green, iron red, yellow, purple and, later, blue enamel (c. 1700).
This period became an era of great splendour that continued through the following reigns.
