Famille jaune, noire, rose, verte are terms used in the West to classify
Chinese porcelain
Chinese ceramics show a continuous development since pre-dynastic times and are one of the most significant forms of Chinese art and ceramics globally. The first pottery was made during the Palaeolithic era. Chinese ceramics range from constru ...
of the
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...
by the dominant
colour
Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are assoc ...
of its enamel palette. These wares were initially grouped under the French names of ("green family"), and (pink family) by Albert Jacquemart in 1862. The other terms (yellow) and (black) may have been introduced later by dealers or collectors and they are generally considered subcategories of ''famille verte''. ''Famille verte'' porcelain was produced mainly during the
Kangxi
The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to 1 ...
era, while ''famille rose'' porcelain was popular in the 18th and 19th century. Much of the Chinese production was
Jingdezhen porcelain
Jingdezhen porcelain () is Chinese porcelain produced in or near Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province in southern China. Jingdezhen may have produced pottery as early as the sixth century CE, though it is named after the reign name of Emperor Zhenzo ...
, and a large proportion were
made for export to the West, but some of the finest were made for the Imperial court.
Famille verte
''Famille verte'' (康熙五彩, ''Kangxi wucai'', also 素三彩, ''Susancai''), adopted in the
Kangxi
The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to 1 ...
period around 1680, uses
green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combi ...
in a few different shades and
iron red with other overglaze colours. It developed from the ''
wucai
''Wucai'' (五彩, "Five colours", "Wuts'ai" in Wade-Giles) is a style of decorating white Chinese porcelain in a limited range of colours. It normally uses underglaze cobalt blue for the design outline and some parts of the images, and overgl ...
'' (五彩, "Five colours") style, which combines
underglaze
Underglaze is a method of decorating pottery in which painted decoration is applied to the surface before it is covered with a transparent ceramic glaze and fired in a kiln. Because the glaze subsequently covers it, such decoration is completely ...
cobalt blue with a few
overglaze
Overglaze decoration, overglaze enamelling or on-glaze decoration is a method of decorating pottery, most often porcelain, where the coloured decoration is applied on top of the already fired and glazed surface, and then fixed in a second firing ...
colours. The ''famille verte'' enamels may be painted on the
biscuit (unglazed prefired ware) with no underglaze blue, or over high-fired glaze, producing wares of different appearances. Wares with enamel painted on the biscuit usually have a solid-colour ground such as yellow, black or green, while those painted over the glaze may have a white ground. Occasionally both underglaze and overglaze blue may be seen in the same object.
The firing to fuse the enamels was done at a relatively low temperature.
The colours found in ''famille verte'' are typically green, red, yellow, blue and aubergine (non-vivid purple). Black may also be used and occasionally gold. The blue colour is more violet or royal blue in tone, which is different in shade from the blue used in
Ming dynasty
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...
porcelain. The ability to achieve colour gradation ''famille verte'' is limited. The coloured enamels are often painted over the pure white body of the porcelain which comes over through the glaze. The colours may also be set off on a black or yellow grounds (known as ''famille noire'' and ''famille jaune'' respectively), and more rarely aubergine and green.
''Famille verte'' wares were popular for several decades until the 1720s after the reign of Kangxi when it became supplanted by ''famille rose'' which has a greater colour range. It continued to be made in small amounts in the subsequent periods, and its popularity revived in the West in the late 19th and early 20th century.
File:Wusai vase Shunzi period circa 1650 1660.jpg, Wucai
''Wucai'' (五彩, "Five colours", "Wuts'ai" in Wade-Giles) is a style of decorating white Chinese porcelain in a limited range of colours. It normally uses underglaze cobalt blue for the design outline and some parts of the images, and overgl ...
vase, Shunzhi
The Shunzhi Emperor (15 March 1638 – 5 February 1661) was the second emperor of the Qing dynasty of China, and the first Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1644 to 1661. A committee of Manchu princes chose him to succee ...
period, circa 1650-1660.
File:Wucai plate for exportation Kangxi period circa 1680 bis.jpg, ''Wucai'' plate for exportation, Kangxi
The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to 1 ...
period, circa 1680.
File:Wucai plate for exportation Kangxi period circa 1680.jpg, ''Wucai'' plate for exportation, Kangxi
The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to 1 ...
period, circa 1680.
File:MET 37 191 8 S4 sf (cropped).jpg, Vase, Kangxi
The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to 1 ...
period
File:Saint Cloud soft porcelain spitting bowl Famille verte 1730 1740.jpg, Saint-Cloud soft porcelain spitting bowl
Spitting is the act of forcibly ejecting saliva or other substances from the mouth. The act is often done to get rid of unwanted or foul-tasting substances in the mouth, or to get rid of a large buildup of mucus. Spitting of small saliva dr ...
, famille verte, 1730-1740.
Famille jaune
''Famille jaune'' is a variation of ''famille verte'', using ''famille verte''
enamels on a
yellow
Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In the ...
ground.
Famille noire
''Famille noire'' (Chinese: 墨地素三彩, ''Modi susancai'') uses a
black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...
ground (although some clobbered wares had the black added in the 19th century). ''Famille noire'' wares were made in the Kangxi era. They may have a copper-green lead based enamel painted over dry black cobalt ground on the biscuit, and a transparent green glaze was then applied, giving it a near-iridescent appearance. ''Famille noire'' was once highly appreciated by western collectors, which led to high prices and many pieces were then counterfeited, with the result that a large proportion of those believed to be surviving examples are actually forgeries. The popularity of this type of porcelain has since declined.
File:MET 14 40 417 O1 sf.jpg, Famille jaune vase, probably Kangxi reign, Jingdezhen. Porcelain painted in polychrome enamels on the biscuit and on the glaze .
File:MET 61 200 49ab O4 sf.jpg, Famille noire vase, Kangxi reign, Jingdezhen
Famille rose
![Imperial bowl famille rose Guimet G5249](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Imperial_bowl_famille_rose_Guimet_G5249.jpg)
''Famille rose'', known in Chinese as ''fencai'' () or ''ruancai'' ( / ), 'pale colours' or 'soft colours'), ''yangcai'' (), lit. 'foreign colours'), and ''falangcai'' (, lit. 'enamel colours'),
is a type of porcelain defined by the presence of pink colour overglaze enamel. The colour palette was introduced in China during the reign of
Kangxi
The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to 1 ...
(1654–1722), possibly around 1720, but perfected only in the
Yongzheng
, regnal name =
, posthumous name = Emperor Jingtian Changyun Jianzhong Biaozhen Wenwu Yingming Kuanren Xinyi Ruisheng Daxiao Zhicheng Xian()Manchu: Temgetulehe hūwangdi ()
, temple name = Shizong()Manchu: Šidzung ()
, house = Aisin Gioro
...
era when the finest pieces were made. ''Famille rose'' is named after its pink coloured enamel, but which may actually ranged from pale pink to deep ruby. Apart from pink, a range of other soft colour palettes were used in ''famille rose'', hence the term ''fencai''. The gradation of colours was produced by mixing coloured enamels with 'glassy white' (玻璃白, ''boli bai''), an opaque white enamel (lead arsenate).
It is generally believed that the new colour palette in China was introduced by
Jesuits in China
The history of the missions of the Jesuits in China is part of the history of relations between China and the Western world. The missionary efforts and other work of the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits, between the 16th and 17th century played a si ...
(through the use of
purple of Cassius
Purple of Cassius is a purple pigment formed by the reaction of gold salts with tin(II) chloride. It has been used to impart glass with a red coloration (see ''cranberry glass''), as well as to determine the presence of gold as a chemical test.
...
) to the Imperial court, initially on enamels used on metal wares such as
cloisonné
Cloisonné () is an ancient technique for decorating metalwork objects with colored material held in place or separated by metal strips or wire, normally of gold. In recent centuries, vitreous enamel has been used, but inlays of cut gemstones, ...
produced in the ''falang'' workshop (珐琅作, ''falang'' meaning enamel may have originated from the word for the "
Franks
The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...
" or "France"), or through adaptation of enamels used in tin-glazed South German earthenware.
Research has failed to show that the chemical composition of the pink colour pigment on ''famille rose'' to be the same as that of the European one. However, the term used by
Tang Ying
Tang Ying (; 1682–1756) was a Qing dynasty writer, playwright and ceramist. He was the Superintendent of the Imperial porcelain works in Jingdezhen where he served over a period twenty-eight years under two emperors. His tenure at the Impe ...
(who oversaw the production of porcelain at
Jingdezhen
Jingdezhen is a prefecture-level city, in northeastern Jiangxi province, with a total population of 1,669,057 (2018), bordering Anhui to the north. It is known as the " Porcelain Capital" because it has been producing Chinese ceramics for at le ...
) and in Qing documents was ''yangcai'' ("foreign colours"),
indicating its foreign origin or influence. Rudimentary ''famille rose'' have been found in Chinese porcelain from the 1720s, although the technique was not fully developed until around 1730 during the
Yongzheng
, regnal name =
, posthumous name = Emperor Jingtian Changyun Jianzhong Biaozhen Wenwu Yingming Kuanren Xinyi Ruisheng Daxiao Zhicheng Xian()Manchu: Temgetulehe hūwangdi ()
, temple name = Shizong()Manchu: Šidzung ()
, house = Aisin Gioro
...
period. The pink of the early pieces of the 1720s were darker in colours made with ruby-coloured glass, but after 1725 softer shades were achieved by mixing with white enamels. At the Palace workshops in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
, experimentation was conducted to develop a range of enamel colours and techniques for applying the such enamels onto blank porcelain supplied by Jingdezhen, and the wares produced were called ''falangcai''. Court painters were employed to make drafts to decorate such wares, which produced a new aesthetic style of decoration on porcelain. ''Falangcai'' decorations may be painted on a white ground, or on a coloured ground with yellow the most popular. As ''falangcai'' was produced at the palace for its exclusive use, there are relatively fewer pieces of ''falangcai'' porcelain.
With the successful creation of ''falangcai'' porcelain at the palace, ''falangcai'' was also then made at the imperial kilns of Jingdezhen. The term ''yangcai'' was used to refer to porcelain produced at Jingdezhen to imitate ''falangcai''. Visually there is little difference in appearance between ''falangcai'' and ''yangcai'' wares produced for imperial use, but differences may be detected in the chemical composition of the
flux used.
''Ruancai'' ('soft colours') was also a term used in the Yongzheng era as the colours used are softer in contrast to the 'hard colours' (硬彩, ''yingcai'') previously used for ''famille verte'' or ''wucai''.
''Fencai'' is the more modern term used by Chen Liu (陈浏) in the early 20th century and it then replaced ''yangcai'' in Chinese usage.
The ''famille rose'' enamels allow for a greater range of colour and tone than was previously possible, enabling the depiction of more complex images, particularly during the
Qianlong
The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his Temple name, temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth List of emperors of the Qing dynasty, Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing empe ...
era, and decorations became more elaborate and crowded in the later Qianlong period. The images may be painted on coloured grounds, including yellow, blue, pink, coral red, light green, 'cafe au lait' and brown. Black ground or ''famille noire'' may also be used on ''famille rose'' ware, but they are not highly regarded. Many produced in the Qianlong period were on eggshell porcelain. ''Famille rose'' supplanted ''famille verte'' in popularity, and its production overtook
blue and white porcelain in the mid-18th century. It remained popular throughout the 18th and the 19th centuries and continued to be made in the 20th century. The quality of wares produced however declined after the Qianlong period.
![Guangdong Sheng Bowuguan 2013](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Guangdong_Sheng_Bowuguan_2013.12.15_10-56-18.jpg)
Jingdezhen produced many ''famille rose'' pieces, and some of the finest pieces were made there. However, from the late 18th century onwards, many pieces were decorated in the port city of
Canton to produce the
Canton ware intended for export, using white porcelain from Jingdezhen. In contrast to the more refined 'court-taste' porcelain, export wares particularly those from the 19th century tend to be highly and brightly decorated. The decorative patterns used in these export wares may be referred to as Rose Canton, Rose Mandarin and Rose Medallion.
''Famille rose'' enamels were known to have been used in Europe before its usage became established in China, for example in
Vienna porcelain
Vienna porcelain is the product of the Vienna Porcelain Manufactory (German: ''Kaiserlich privilegierte Porcellain Fabrique''), a porcelain manufacturer in Alsergrund in Vienna, Austria. It was founded in 1718 and continued until 1864.
The firm wa ...
made by the Du Paquier factory in 1725.
Large number of ''famille rose'' porcelains were exported from China to the West, and many European factories such as
Meissen,
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
and
Chantilly
Chantilly may refer to:
Places
France
*Chantilly, Oise, a city located in the Oise department
**US Chantilly, a football club
*Château de Chantilly, a historic château located in the town of Chantilly
United States
* Chantilly, Missou ...
copied the ''famille rose'' palette used in Chinese porcelain.
Export of Chinese porcelain then declined due to competition from the European factories.
File:Shanghai Museum 2006 17-60.jpg, Auspicious bats and peaches on a dish, a popular subject in the Chinese taste. Yongzheng reign (1723 - 1735)
File:Percival David Collection DSCF3220 15.jpg, A selection of ''falangcai'' porcelains
File:Qing export porcelain with European figure Famille Rose first half of 18th century.jpg, Qing period Chinese export porcelain
Chinese export porcelain includes a wide range of Chinese porcelain that was made (almost) exclusively for export to Europe and later to North America between the 16th and the 20th century. Whether wares made for non-Western markets are covered b ...
with European figure, Famille Rose, first half of 18th century.
File:Jingdezhen soft paste porcelain flower holder Famille Rose 1736 1796 Qianlong period.jpg, Jingdezhen porcelain
Jingdezhen porcelain () is Chinese porcelain produced in or near Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province in southern China. Jingdezhen may have produced pottery as early as the sixth century CE, though it is named after the reign name of Emperor Zhenzo ...
soft paste porcelain flower holder, "Famille Rose", 1736-1796, Qianlong
The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his Temple name, temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth List of emperors of the Qing dynasty, Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing empe ...
period.
File:Punchbowl, unidentified maker, China, c. 1765, porcelain - Albany Institute of History and Art - DSC08001.JPG, Canton ware
File:Plate, China, 1840-1900, Rose medallion pattern porcelain - Portland Museum of Art - Portland, Maine - DSC04117.jpg, Rose Medallion plate with decorations that are divided into panels
File:Guimet porcelana china 31.JPG, Qianlong period ''famille rose'' vase
File:珐琅彩芍药雉鸡图玉壶春瓶08467.jpg, ''Falangcai'' vase
; European pieces in the styles
File:Saint Cloud soft paste porcelain flower holder Famille Rose 1730 1740.jpg, Saint-Cloud soft paste porcelain flower holder, famille rose, 1730-1740.
File:Delft plate faience Famille Rose 1760 1780.jpg, Dutch Delftware
Delftware or Delft pottery, also known as Delft Blue ( nl, Delfts blauw) or as delf,
is a general term now used for Dutch tin-glazed earthenware, a form of faience. Most of it is blue and white pottery, and the city of Delft in the Netherlands ...
plate, faience
Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an oxide of tin to the slip of a lead glaze, was a major a ...
, famille rose, 1760-1780.
References
External links
Example of fencai enamal ware
{{DEFAULTSORT:Famille Jaune, Noire, Rose, Verte
Chinese porcelain
Types of pottery decoration