Chinese Export Porcelain Tobacco-Leaf Quatrefoil Soup Tureen and Cover

Object Details

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Chinese Export Porcelain Pseudo Tobacco-Leaf Pattern Soup Tureen Stand

Unknown
ca. 1760-1770

ceramic; porcelain with underglaze blue and overglaze enamels

Object Essay

Colorful and exotic “tobacco-leaf” china was made between 1750 and 1800 for table services, garnitures, and tea services. Its patterns have been classified broadly by the palette employed: one type pairs the rose palette of colors with a blue underglaze; the other unites the same palette with green, brown, and iron-red enamels.^{1_{See Forbes for a discussion of the origins and uses of the rose palette and for a description of the two classifications. For additional examples in the Collection, see Conger and Rollins, Treasures of State, cat. no. 157 (Acc. No. 86.43, 86.44, 86.47, 88.3).}} The emphasis in both types is on the lavish use of colors derived from the mixture of opaque white enamel, beginning during the reign of Yung Cheng (Yong Zheng, 1723–35), with the palette of translucent colors from the earlier porcelains of K’ang-hsi (Kangxi, 1662–1722). Elaborate floral patterns using the rose palette predominated in China-trade porcelain during the second half of the eighteenth century. The dense patterns of the tobacco-leaf group made them the most costly. Both broad and feathery leaves or plumes are included in the tobacco-leaf group, suggesting that no single plant was used as the dominant design source. There is some belief, however, that the broad leaves resemble the annona, or custard apple.^{2_{Forbes, 26, discusses the resemblance to the annona’s leaf.}} Furthermore, the flowers seem to have been taken from hibiscus or passion blossoms, and motifs reminiscent of pomegranates may also be seen. Lotus pods were frequently used as the handles on tureens. Phoenixes (feng huang), squirrels (“pine rats” in Chinese), and Oriental figures were sometimes included as well.^{3_{Ibid., 25, identifies the phoenix and squirrel.}} East Indian textiles have been suggested as a possible design source, but the European or Chinese designers who invented these patterns for copying by the Chinese decorators probably relied on a general impression rather than a particular fabric.^{4_{Mudge 1986,161, speculates on textiles as a design source for tobacco-leaf patterns.}}

Ellen Paul Denker and Bert R. Denker

Excerpted from Jonathan L. Fairbanks. Becoming a Nation: Americana from the Diplomatic Reception Rooms, U.S. Department of State. New York: Rizzoli, 2003.