Chapter 1,253 The pinnacle of aesthetics in palace porcelain
During the Yongzheng period, whether it was porcelain vases, bowls, pots, bottles, cans, or even study utensils, they were all beautiful and exquisite.
Most of these porcelains are from ancient times, but they are unique to the porcelains from the Yongzheng period. The shape of the porcelain is often thin and light, and the overall shape is elegant, small and exquisite.
The proportions of these porcelains are harmonious and soft in appearance, and they are called "curvaceous".
How beautiful are the appearance lines of Yongzheng porcelain?
Some people describe the shape of porcelain in the Yongzheng period like this: "If it is increased by one point, it will be clumsy, and if it is reduced by one point, it will be ugly."
Moreover, the shapes of porcelain in the Yongzheng period are usually full of regularity and rhythm, and have geometric aesthetic taste.
Therefore, the porcelain of the Yongzheng period, both in terms of shape and glaze color, is the pinnacle of the past dynasties.
Of course, in addition to this, the decoration of Yongzheng porcelain is not simple.
The porcelain surface decoration during the Yongzheng period was mainly based on painting, and also included techniques such as engraving, sealing, scratching, piling up sculptures and carvings.
Influenced by the "boneless painting method", the porcelain surface patterns at that time were clear and graceful, with full charm.
Compared with the Kangxi period, the colors are also more elegant and beautiful.
The strokes and outlines are relatively delicate and detailed.
Even the figure's figure is drawn slightly thin and slender.
Of course, many of the decorations from the Yongzheng period were inherited from the Kangxi period.
For example, dragon and phoenix patterns, bamboo and wood inscriptions, etc.
In terms of theme selection of decoration, Yongzheng porcelain seems to particularly favor flowers.
There are many varieties of flowers, including peonies, peach blossoms, crabapples, chrysanthemums, poppies, etc., all of which are included in the painting.
At the same time, the decoration of plates and bowls, including the "dragon crossing the wall" pattern extending from the inside to the outside, also emerged during the Yongzheng period.
The poppy patterns and rubber ball patterns that emerged during the Kangxi period also reached their peak under Yongzheng.
It is said that Tang Ying, the pottery supervisor at that time, admired Xiang Yu very much and admired the story of Xiang Yu and Yu Ji, so he preferred poppies.
Some writers have verified that poppies were planted all over Mount Zhushan where the Jingzhen Royal Kiln Factory is located in the Qing Dynasty.
Therefore, poppies were a very common pattern theme on porcelain from the Yongzheng period.
Of course, no matter what the pattern is, what really makes Yongzheng period porcelain stand out among many other porcelains is the technique and technique of painting the pattern.
The elegant and light pattern colors, the well-proportioned porcelain surface composition, and the slender and soft brush strokes all make Yongzheng porcelain the pinnacle of aesthetics among the Qing Dynasty palace porcelain.
Actually think about it, can it not be the pinnacle?
The glaze color, vessel shape, and pattern are all at their peak. When combined together, they are still imperial products produced by official kilns. It would be strange for this kind of work not to be at its peak.
Therefore, during the Yongzheng period, which was one of the most prosperous periods of the Qing Dynasty, porcelain production reached the highest level in history.
The porcelain of this period has changed from the simple and crude style of the Kangxi period, and is famous for its graceful shape and fine glaze.
The overall style of Yongzheng porcelain is light and handsome, elegant and refined, with unique conception, soft and round lines, extremely fine material selection for the carcass, thin walls and light body.
Small utensils have soft and subtle lines, are light and handsome, practical and beautiful.
Large utensils are dignified and elegant, pay attention to changes in lines, are simple and clumsy, have coordinated proportions, are light and beautiful, regular but not heavy.
Let’s talk about glaze color first. Emperor Yongzheng had a strict and orderly personality and a very high aesthetic taste. Monochromatic glaze was his favorite type of porcelain.
The single-color glazed porcelain of the Yongzheng period has more colors than the Kangxi period.
Not to mention the single-color glazed chrysanthemum petal plate, in addition to this set of fine single-color glazed porcelain, there are many single-color glazed porcelains from the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty.
For example, there are blue-glazed jade pots and spring vases, red-glazed jade pots and spring vases, and even yellow-glazed jade pots and spring vases.
Palace porcelain has different functions. For example, blue glaze is often used in sacrificial activities.
The yellow glaze porcelain is the real porcelain used by the royal family for daily use.
According to the porcelain left behind, during the Yongzheng reign, the most common single-color glaze colors should be red glaze, yellow glaze and celadon glaze.
Chen Wenzhe imitated all kinds of glaze colors in the Yongzheng period when making the chrysanthemum petal plate.
So the production this time is relatively simple, as long as you have a suitable shape of the vessel and apply the glaze.
Chen Wenzhe has prepared various glaze colors from the Yongzheng period before, so you can just use them now.
There were many classic glaze colors in the Yongzheng period, and as long as you prepare these glaze colors and then make five colors and pastels, it becomes simple.
The craftsmanship of colored porcelain during the Yongzheng period was even better than that of previous dynasties.
There were many varieties of colored porcelain during the Yongzheng period, usually including traditional colored porcelain such as five-color porcelain, pastel color porcelain and doucai porcelain.
In addition, there are more exquisite enamel colors.
The enamel colors we see today were called "foreign colors" at that time.
The enamel colors of the Yongzheng period were very famous, but not many of them have survived to this day.
The enamel colors of the Yongzheng period are also significantly different from those of the Kangxi period.
Especially the production process is more refined.
During the Kangxi period, paintings were generally more regular patterns with colored ground.
In the Yongzheng period, paintings were all painted without color.
Particular emphasis is placed on painting, and there are more subjects for painting.
Such as flowers and birds, landscapes, pine, bamboo, plum, etc., the images expressed are extremely vivid.
Many collectors and connoisseurs in modern times admire Yongzheng Doucai, and it is definitely not without reason.
For example, it is better than the doucai during the Kangxi period, and even improved compared to the doucai during the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty.
Compared with the Doucai of Yongzheng and Chenghua of Ming Dynasty, there have been improvements in the decorative layout, color coordination and color-filling technology.
Both the colors and patterns are more sophisticated than before.
The porcelain of this period had thinner colors and very soft and elegant tones.
On this basis, enamel color and gold color were introduced, forming a new process of fighting color plus gold color, and fighting color plus enamel color.
In addition to the original red, yellow, green, purple, and ocher colors, Doucai porcelain also adds a variety of colors such as pink, rouge, lotus root, rose, lake green, etc., making it even more beautiful and delicate.
Yongzheng Doucai, with flowers, birds and figures as the decorative theme, has blue and white outlines under the glaze, and various colors are filled in on the glaze. The color filling is accurate and there are no edges.
In pursuit of color changes, a flower is filled with purple, red, yellow, green, blue and other colors, and the production process is quite mature.
Such good enamel and doucai porcelain are naturally not cheap.
There are not many Yongzheng enamel and doucai porcelains priced at 70 to 80 million yuan, but they are not uncommon.
However, porcelain of this level is too troublesome to make. Besides, the enamels of the Qianlong period were even better than the works of the Yongzheng period.
Therefore, Chen Wenzhe copied several classic pieces of Yongzheng's enamel porcelain.
For example, Yongzheng doucai celestial vase with cloud and dragon pattern, Yongzheng doucai amphorae with pastel cloud and dragon pattern, Yongzheng doucai bowl with branches and flowers pattern, etc. Just make a few representative ones.
If he wanted to imitate more, he wanted to imitate Qianlong enamel.
After all, there were many high-quality porcelains from the third and third dynasties of the Qing Dynasty, such as revolving vases. It would be too laborious to imitate all types of revolving vases.