Guangxu Period Sprinkled Blue Gilt-Decorated Wucai Foliate Rim Plate with Flower, Bird and Pomegranate Panels, Late 19th Century Chinese Export Porcelain

拍品描述

Dimensions: Rim Diameter 22.2cm (8.74in), Height 3.2cm (1.26in), Late 19th CenturyCondition & Provenance: The plate is entirely intact with no cracks, chips, enamel loss or restorations. The speckled blue ground glaze is even and full, the hand-painted gilt scrollwork retains natural gentle wear with no missing gold detailing, and the wucai overglaze enamels stay vivid without fading. The white base porcelain bears authentic age marks from long-term collection, free of modern artificial aging treatments. This artifact was previously held by a senior private Asian antique collector based in Dallas, Texas, USA, and entered China’s antique trade market in 2022. Complete large wucai plates with speckled blue ground, gilding and floral-bird medallions from the late Qing are quite scarce, and pristine specimens like this rarely circulate among American private collections.Description: This wide foliate rim deep plate is a classic export porcelain shape from the late Qing Dynasty, featuring a broad outward folded rim, shallow curved belly and neatly trimmed foot ring, delivering a balanced and elegant silhouette. The entire surface outside the central medallion is covered with uniform speckled sapphire blue glaze with fine stippled texture. The folded rim is fully ornamented with thin flowing gilded scrolls and interlocking floral vines, the delicate gold lines carry subtle vintage wear. A large round white porcelain reserve sits at the plate’s center, hand-painted in vivid wucai enamels with a songbird perched on a pomegranate branch. The bird’s plumage is layered with precise color gradation, its bright orange-red tail stands out vividly, paired with clusters of ripe pomegranates and lush emerald green leaves, symbolizing abundant descendants and blessings. Four evenly spaced oval white reserves run along the folded rim, each painted with one of China’s four seasonal flowers: peony, orchid, chrysanthemum and camellia, rendered with soft harmonious hues that create a striking contrast against the rich blue and gold background. The base is coated in clean bright white glaze, marked simply with double underglaze blue concentric circles, a standard uninscribed base mark for high-quality domestic and export porcelain of the Guangxu reign. This piece combines three sophisticated decorative techniques: speckled blue ground glaze, hand gilding and multi-color wucai overglaze painting, blending traditional Chinese auspicious decorative motifs with Western aesthetic preferences for export goods. It fully embodies the mature firing and enamel painting craftsmanship of late Guangxu export porcelain, serving as a vital reference artifact for studying Sino-Western trade ceramics and low-temperature colored glaze overglaze decoration techniques. It is a perfect fit for specialized Ming and Qing polychrome porcelain collections and qualifies for long-term museum displays focused on Chinese export wares, carrying outstanding decorative aesthetic, folk cultural and international trade historical value.

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