Culture Insider: How to distinguish doucai, wucai, famille-rose and enamel porcelain

Updated: 2015-01-23 07:08

By Yu Xiaoou(Chinaculture.org)

 

A rare and fine famille-rose vase [Photo/ artron.net]

Famille-rose porcelain first came into being during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). The main materials and techniques used to make the porcelain were introduced from abroad in the beginning. When making famille-rose porcelain, craftsmen fired opaque glass, which is a an opaque white enamel containing arsenic, onto plain porcelain, creating patterns with Chinese painting techniques and then baking it in a kiln.

Famille-rose porcelain ware in the Qing Dynasty mainly included items such as pots, bottles, wine vessels, jars, basins, plates, urns, boxes. The patterns mostly included dragons and phoenixes, flowers, landscapes, human figures and themes from legends. Subjects on the porcelain often came from paintings of famous painters at that time.