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Covered box

Photo: Paul Macapia

Covered box

18th century

This box’s turquoise glaze and gilded spiral patterns imitate gilt bronze cloisonné vessels. The illusion continues in the gilded interior, made to look like unoxidized bronze. The Qianlong emperor was fond of art objects that dazzled but also fooled the eyes—an example of how imperial passions pushed porcelain technology to create new forms, glazes, and applications. The Imperial Ware Factory’s superintendent supervised the design, finance, production, and transportation of tens of thousands of top-quality pieces for the palace from the porcelain center of Jingdezhen.
Porcelain with turquoise glaze and gilt
3 1/2 in. (8.9 cm), height
6 3/8 in. (16.2 cm), diameter
3 13/16 in. (9.7 cm), overall height
Purchased in memory of the E. K. Bishop and Lillian Bishop Family
73.5
Photo: Paul Macapia
location
Now on view at the Asian Art Museum

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Porcelain Stories: From China to Europe, Feb. 17 - May 7, 2000.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Boundless: Stories of Asian Art, Feb. 8, 2020 - ongoing.
Published ReferencesEmerson Julie, Jennifer Chen, and Mimi Gardner Gates, "Porcelain Stories, From China to Europe", Seattle Art Museum, 2000, pg. 245

Foong, Ping, Xiaojin Wu, and Darielle Mason. "An Asian Art Museum Transformed." Orientations vol. 51, no. 3 (May/June 2020): pp. 56-57, reproduced fig. 16.

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