Enamel Lidded Bowl with Gold Ground,
This enamel-decorated lidded bowl with gold ground is collaboratively crafted by Master Zhang Jian, a master artisan of Jingdezhen overglaze decoration and piled‑gold technique, together with several other master craftsmen.
Among enamel porcelains, the most elaborate and intricate decorative style is known as
Guyuexuan.
The porcelain painting on this lidded bowl features lines as fine as silk hair — such incredibly delicate, divine brushwork that it almost seems to require a magnifying glass to create.
This shape was custom‑made by Zhao Qingtao, the owner of Dayatang Studio, and is
one of a kind on the market.
Scrolling Flower Patterns
The exterior is adorned with enamel‑painted scrolling flowers, including scrolling peonies, scrolling lotus flowers and scrolling chrysanthemums.
They are known as “Flowers of Eternal Longevity” for their endless, interconnected forms.
The scrolling lotus vines twist and curl gracefully, full of dynamism, with a brilliant color scheme, and the exterior is accented with golden string patterns.
Owing to their continuous, unbroken structure, they symbolize
endless vitality — for this reason, the scrolling branch pattern is also known as the
Longevity Vine.
Beyond its elaborate and exquisite painting, the Guyuexuan scrolling flower cup requires four separate kiln firings to complete, with the risk of damage in each firing.
In the Qing Dynasty, enamel porcelain was originally made exclusively for the appreciation of emperors and empresses.
Enamel is a special colored pigment produced through artificial firing.
Before the 6th year of the Yongzheng reign (1728), enamel materials had to be imported from Europe.
After that year, the
Imperial Workshop of the Qing Court successfully developed more than 20 kinds of enamel pigments on its own.
Enamel porcelain represents the pinnacle of ancient Chinese polychrome porcelain craftsmanship.
