Palangana; China, Qing dynasty, 19th century.

Palangana; China, Qing dynasty, 19th century.
Glazed porcelain. Pink family.
Presents restoration on the wing.
Measurements: 12 x 40,5 x 40,5 cm.
Palangana made of pink porcelain with decoration known as "Hundred treasures" (baibao). The Hundred Treasures motif is not always composed of exactly the same objects. Artisans usually select a combination of objects from the full range of possibilities, but all of them usually express good wishes and good fortune.
The Rose Family style originated in the late Kangxi period, the Qing dynasty emperor who reigned from 1662 to 1722. The new ornamental style is based on the introduction of new enamels, the most famous of which is pink, which will give its name to the style. Other new colors are also added, such as opaque yellow, white and the now independent black (until then, to fix the black glaze, it had to be covered with a glaze of another color, usually translucent green). Technically, the most important is opaque white, since it could be mixed with other glazes to achieve a wide range of pastel tones, as well as allowing a smooth tonal gradation that made it possible to successfully imitate Western painting. What defines the Pink Family is not, therefore, the predominance of that color, but this new polychrome. The new style led to the abandonment of the one that predominated until then, the Green Family, characterized by the abundance of this color and the use of more watery glazes.