Pair of Qing dynasty vases, Green Family. China,... Lot 1

Pair of Qing dynasty vases, Green Family. China, 19th century. Hand-painted porcelain. With calligraphic inscriptions on front and back. Measurements: 58 cm (height); 23 cm (largest diameter). Pair of ornamental vases made in porcelain, belonging to the style known as Familia Verde. They have mirror decoration representing ceremonial motifs. Each of the vases depicts a retinue of servants celebrating and accompanying an emperor. On the reverse are jardinières, vases and floral motifs. The bright colors used, mostly in greenish tones, are in the style of the Green Family. The fretwork arrangement of the handles deserves special attention. The term Green Family is the Western name for a style of Chinese polychrome porcelain derived from wucai (literally 'five colors'). Wucai was created during the Ming dynasty, and has been widely used in China ever since. It is characterized by only some of the motifs being executed in cobalt-blue underglaze, while the rest of the decoration is applied already on the glaze. In addition, black glaze is added for the outlines, in early times covered with a translucent green glaze to fix it. The Green Family style is a type of wucai called yingcai ("solid colours"), which is characterized by the predominance of copper oxide green. The name yingcai refers to the quality of the glazes, which are crystalline because they are mostly applied to the glaze.