Vase with lid; China, Qing dynasty, Yongzheng period, 1722-1735.

Vase with lid; China, Qing dynasty, Yongzheng period, 1722-1735.
Cafe au lait" porcelain. Rose family.
Measurements: 24 x 20 x 20 cm.
Vase with lid made of glazed porcelain. The decoration is framed in the Pink Family style, based on the introduction of new glazes, of which the most famous is pink, which will give name to the style, although it is combined with a brown finish known as cafe au lait. In this case, ruby red is the main decorative motif. Other new colors are also added, such as opaque yellow, white and the now independent black (until then, to fix the black glaze, it had to be covered with a glaze of another color, usually translucent green). Technically, the most important is opaque white, since it could be mixed with other glazes to achieve a wide range of pastel tones, as well as allowing a smooth tonal gradation that made it possible to successfully imitate Western painting. What defines the Pink Family is not, therefore, the predominance of that color, but this new polychrome. The new style led to the abandonment of the one that predominated until then, the Green Family, characterized by the abundance of this color and the use of more watery glazes.