Fish bowl; China, Qing dynasty, Tongzhi period,... Lot 3

Fish bowl; China, Qing dynasty, Tongzhi period, 1856- 1875. Glazed ceramic. Green family. Measurements: 48 x 54 cm. Large 19th century Chinese fish bowl made of porcelain and glazed. The piece presents a complex ornamentation based on a figurative scene conceived as a frieze, in the center of the piece. The lower part of the base is defined by a grid adorned with pink flowers. In the center, a scene of costumbrista character can be appreciated, in which representations of different social classes are gathered. Finally, this scene is crowned by a set of ruyi clouds arranged as a fretwork that give way to the neck and finally to the mouth of the fishbowl. The interior is also decorated, with several bright orange carp as the main motif. The predominant tonality indicates that this is a piece that belongs to the Green Family, a western denomination for a style of Chinese polychrome porcelain that derives from wucai (literally, "five colors"). Wucai was created during the Ming dynasty and has been widely used in China ever since. It is characterized by only some of the motifs being executed in underglaze cobalt blue, while the rest of the decoration is applied already on the glaze. In addition, black glaze is added for the outlines, in the early days covered with a translucent green glaze to fix it. The Green Family style is a type of wucai called yingcai ("solid colors"), which is characterized by the predominance of copper oxide green. The name yingcai refers to the quality of the glazes, crystalline, being mostly applied over the glaze. Under the Qing, inherited art forms flourished and innovations occurred at many levels and in many types. High levels of literacy, a successful publishing industry, thriving cities, and Confucian emphasis on cultivation nurtured a lively and creative set of cultural fields. uring this period, the European tendency to imitate Chinese artistic traditions, known as chinoiserie, also gained great popularity in Europe due to increased trade with China and the broader current of Orientalism.