Pair of large tea boxes for export. China, Rosa Family, mid-20th century

Pair of large tea boxes for export. China, Rosa Family, mid-20th century.
Porcelain with polychrome enamel decoration by the Rosa Family.
No mark.
Measurements: 42 x 25 x 25 cm.

Pair of large tea boxes made of Chinese porcelain and lavishly decorated with polychrome enamels in the Rosa Family tradition, an ornamental style that emerged during the Qing Dynasty and is particularly prized by the Western market. Featuring an architectural and distinctly prismatic shape, each container is topped with a large square lid, preserving the form of containers traditionally used for storing tea. Its various sides are organized into large panels framed by brightly colored geometric borders, within which figurative scenes of courtly taste alternate with compositions of flowers, birds, trees, and landscapes. The meticulousness of the pictorial work stands out, both in the figures and their attire as well as in the vegetation, architecture, and small narrative details—all rendered using a rich palette of pinks, greens, blues, yellows, and reddish tones.

The significance of this set lies particularly in its large size, the fact that it is a pair, and the richness of its decoration—qualities that give it a notably more monumental presence than that of typical porcelain pieces intended for export. These boxes also bear witness to the West’s longstanding fascination with Chinese porcelain and with an iconographic repertoire associated with an idealized vision of China. The combination of a form historically linked to the tea trade with decoration inspired by the Rosa Family tradition makes the set an attractive example of the survival and reinterpretation, during the 20th century, of Chinese porcelain models created to satisfy international tastes; it also stands out for its decorative value and the difficulty of preserving two pieces conceived as a pair.