JVV 0447
Delft, 1680-1690
The octagonal garlic-head vases stand on a wide, spreading foot and are painted in blue with a chinoiserie decor. An oriental landscape with buildings, a Chinese traveller with a deer, Chinese horsemen and a flying dragon are applied to the belly. The shoulder is decorated with a wide band of cartouches alternated with scrollwork. A leaf is painted in each cartouche. The neck of the vases features scrollwork and two stylised flowers, the garlic-head has floral and foliate scrollwork. A band of ornaments decorates the outside of the trumpet-shaped mouth. On the foot of both vases is a landscape with two resting Chinese, on the reverse of which is a flower with foliate and scrolls.
Dimensions: height 43 cm / 16.92 in.
Explanatory note
The decoration is inspired by Chinese porcelain from the transitional period at the end of the Ming and the start of the Qing dynasty. The porcelain of the last Ming emperor Chongzhen (reigned 1628-1644), the first Qing emperor Shunzi (reigned 1644-1662) and the initial period of his successor Kangxi (reigned 1662-1722) may have served as examples for these vases. The transition period in China lasted more than 60 years (1620-1683) and was accompanied by much unrest, conflict and war. The Ming dynasty finally fell in 1644, but it took decades before peace returned to China.
