Pink Family teapot for the India Company; China,

Pink Family teapot for the India Company; China, Qing dynasty, XVIII century.
Enameled porcelain.
Measurements: 15 x 23,5 x 13,5 cm.

Teapot made of porcelain and decorated with polychrome enamels, made in China in the Qing period for the Islamic or Indian export market. The decoration, of floral type, is framed within the Pink Family style, based on the introduction of new enamels, of which the most famous is pink, which will give name to the style. Other new colors were also added, such as opaque yellow, white and the now independent black (until then, to fix the black glaze, it was necessary to cover it 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.