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15 ? in. (40 cm.) high
Private collection, California.
The current clock case is a wonderful example of the lavishly decorated and embellished objects made in Guangzhou for tribute to the Qing Court. In 1685, the Kangxi Emperor (r. 1662-1722) lifted the ban on maritime trading with foreign countries, thus establishing the port city of Guangzhou (Canton) in Guangdong province as the major trading port for East-West exchange. The court set up Imperial ateliers to produce various luxury objects and clocks decorated in Western techniques. The present clock case exhibits a rare combination of three different techniques that were introduced to China from Europe; painted enamel, basse-taille enamel and cut-glass.Painted enamels, seen on the unusual lotus base, were known as ‘foreign enamels’. The technique was developed in Europe in Flanders at the borders between Belgium, France and the Netherlands. In the late fifteenth century the town of Limoges, in west central France, became the center for enamel production. As the maritime trade flourished between East and West, enamels were introduced to China via Guangzhou in the early Kangxi period. Initially, due to insufficient technical knowledge, only small vessels were made, with a limited palette and murky colors. By the late Kangxi period, a wider range of brighter and purer colors became available, resulting in clearer decoration and a higher level of technical sophistication, and by the Yongzheng and Qianlong reigns the Chinese artisans had perfected the technique.Basse-taille enamel, as seen on the sides and back of the present clock case, was also introduced to China from the West. In Tributes from Guandong to the Qing Court, Hong Kong, 1987, p. 55, Yang Boda notes that the production of this type of high-fired basse-taille was limited to Guangzhou. He notes “The most spectacular pieces are often decorated with gold foil and set on a dark blue ground. The overall effect is sumptuous and dazzling.” Cut-glass embellishment was frequently used on tribute objects made in Guangzhou, and this decorative technique was particularly popular on clocks. For an example of a Qianlong-period clock decorated with cut-glass borders and motifs, and basse taille enamel, see ibid, p. 100, no. 84.