Kangxi blue and white porcelain was produced in China during the reign of the emperor Kangxi, the fourth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the longest-reigning emperor in Chinese history, he ruled China from 1662 to 1722.
The finest examples of Kangxi blue and white porcelain rival any other Chinese blue and white porcelain produced during earlier periods. Due to huge demand from Europe and the home market, even poor-quality items were popular during this period. Kilns in Jingdezhen, the largest centre of production of Chinese porcelain, produced hundreds of thousands of pieces of blue and white porcelain throughout the period, which led to Kangxi porcelain having a reputation for variable quality.
Designs were sometimes based on Buddhist and Daoist themes and often sourced from illustrated books. Kangxi blue and white porcelain was increasingly varied and innovative in terms of structural design.
Imperial porcelain is of the highest quality and is nearly always finely marked, however lesser quality items were either unmarked or carried a pictogram such as an Artemisia leaf or Lingzi fungus.
During the 19th century many small Kangxi vases were exported to Europe and often marketed as items for dolls houses. Innovative Dutch & French silver and goldsmiths, however, came up with the idea of converting them to scent bottles, which are now highly collectable.
The shapes of bottles are characteristic of vases produced centuries earlier.
Meiping, the plum vase, was designed to be the perfect shape to hold a plum branch. It is characterised by a narrow mouth, a small neck resting on high broad shoulders and a tall body tapering off to a shallow ring foot.
Yuhuchun, the pear-shaped vase first appeared in the temples of the Tang dynasty to hold holy water. The refined shape became a classical vase which is characterised by a slightly flared rim, a straight neck that broadens at the end, a bottom-heavy body, and a short foot ring.
The Huluping vase derives its form from a double gourd - as a symbol of fertility, the double gourd is considered to bring good luck, it is also a Daoist emblem of immortality.
