Jingdezhen Semi Hand Painted Chrysanthemum Gaiwan

Jingdezhen, located in the northeastern part of Jiangxi Province, is renowned as the "Porcelain Capital." Its history of porcelain production dates back to the Han Dynasty and reached its zenith during the mid-Ming Dynasty. The most celebrated features of Jingdezhen porcelain are its superior material quality, vibrant glaze colors, intricate decorations, and diverse forms. The porcelain is characterized by its fine, translucent texture and a rich variety of glaze styles, including blue and white (青花), famille rose (粉彩), underglaze red (釉里红), and blue and white with added colors (青花加彩).

This famille rose Gaiwan features a refreshing aesthetic centered on chrysanthemum motifs. As one of China's "Ten Great Traditional Flowers," chrysanthemums bloom after the first autumn frost and were revered by ancient scholars as the "Yanshouke" (Longevity Guest), symbolizing vitality and longevity—making them a classic decorative theme for tea ware. The interior of the Gaiwan is coated with a pink-adjusted glaze slurry, a process that involves modifying the glaze formula or its physical properties to meet specific application, coloration, and firing requirements.

The decorative pattern on this Gaiwan exemplifies Jingdezhen's semi-handcrafted decal application in famille rose craftsmanship—a hybrid technique blending traditional hand-painting with modern decal technology. This approach preserves the artistry of famille rose while enhancing production efficiency. Specifically, the chrysanthemum blossoms and branch outlines are created using decals, while the intricate branch details and leaf elements are meticulously hand-painted.

Jingdezhen is a famous city of porcelain crafts due to its long history of the art since the Han Dynasty - and since the Yuan Dynasty when it began producing imperial porcelain for the royal court. Jingdezhen’s porcelain crafts are noted for their beautiful shape, wide variety, rich decoration, and unique style, and are often characterized by the saying “white as jade, bright as a mirror, thin as paper, sound of a chime”. The four traditionally-recognized types of Jingdezhen porcelain are: blue and white; rice-pattern; famille rose; and color-glazed.