Bowl

The speckled blue surface of this plate, referred to as ‘powder blue’, was created by blowing cobalt blue through a bamboo tube onto unfired porcelain, a technique that was perfected during the reign of the Kangxi emperor. On wares like this, specially shaped resists were used to create blank areas, which were subsequently painted in overglaze enamels and fired a second time. A third firing fixed gilded designs onto the surface of the blue ground. This complex three-stage decoration and firing of such objects made them luxurious and expensive export items.