Kang-he Baluster Vases with the Emperor and Mounted Warriors, Plate, 1911

Plate 142 from Volume II of Gorer and Blacker's Chinese Porcelain and Hard Stones, an original 1911 color plate of two baluster vases in blue on white, one with the emperor and mounted warriors, the other with a prunus tree. Group of two baluster vases. A rare decoration of fine blue upon white, in which an unusual prominence is given to the beauty of the white ground; the taller vase shows the emperor with his attendants and his mounted warriors in a landscape of elaborate rocky scenery, with sprays of flowers painted in blue. The smaller vase has a very rare decoration of the prunus-tree, the trunk slightly shaded in blue. The book gives it to the Kang-he period and records height 18 1/2 inches (47 cm); height 17 1/2 inches (47 cm). From the collection formed by Richard Bennett, Esq., D.L.

The plate belongs to Edgar Gorer and J. F. Blacker's Chinese Porcelain and Hard Stones, issued in London by Bernard Quaritch in 1911, a work in two volumes whose two hundred and fifty four color plates were printed to the highest standard the period could reach. The plates are color collotypes, a photographic process that reproduces continuous tone without a visible dot screen, which is why the glazes keep their depth on paper.

The volumes were produced as a record of pieces Gorer handled or admired, and the plates were made with unusual care for the period. A century later they survive as some of the best color images of early twentieth century taste in Chinese ceramics and hard stones.

Hung as a group with other plates from the same work, it builds into a decorative scheme with a common palette and a common hand.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction.

Even age toning. All four corners complete.