Pair of small bowls with plates from the Rosa... Lot n° 23

Pair of small bowls with plates from the Rosa Family. China, Quianlong period, ca. 1760. Glazed porcelain. Measurements: 3.8 x 7 cm (bowls); 11.5 cm (diameter plates). The set presented here, decorated with tobacco leaves, corresponds to the Rose Family style and dates from the Quianlong period. The Rose Family style originated at the end of the Kagnxi period, emperor of the Qing dynasty who reigned between 1662 and 1722. The new ornamental style is based on the introduction of new enamels, the most famous of which is pink, which will give its name to the style. Other new colors are also added, such as opaque yellow, white and the now independent black (until then, to fix the black glaze, it had to be covered 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 shades, 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.