Description:
Chinese export porcelain circular white or blanc-de-Chine candlestick in two sections. This form is often called "Heemskirk'' type after Jacob van Heemskirk and William Barentz who led a Dutch merchant fleet in 1596 in the attempt to navigate a route to China via northern Russia and Asia. Their fleet was stranded on Novaya Zembala, two Arctic islands off the coast of Russia where they spent that winter; in the spring, what remained of the crew returned to Holland, leaving much of their gear behind. In 1871 and 1876, expeditions found these remains, which included similar pewter candlesticks. An example of this popular form was also excavated from the 1752 wreck of the Dutch ship "Geldermalsen." Production location and date of this candlestick are more difficult to determine. After Manchu invaders from the north destroyed the porcelain production kilns at Jingdezhen in 1644, Europeans purchased porcelains from the kilns of Dehua in Fujian province and Japan. The new Qing dynasty Emperor Kangxi (reigned 1661-1722) rebuilt the Jingdezhen kilns beginning in 1683. While Dehua wares (also known as blanc de Chine) are known for their creamy white color and lack of enameled decoration, the cold, gray tone of this candlestick resembles wares made at Jingdezhen. This candlestick has an unusual two-part construction: the upper section ends at the drip pan and has a circular peg that fits into a hollow in the lower section. The slightly-tapered plain socket with a small molded rim is over a ring turning and flattened baluster vase-shaped knop and ring turning; over a shallow, broad saucer-shaped drip pan; over a ring turnings and a flattened baluster knop and ring turning; over a domed base with a molded stepped circular foot.
Subjects:
Pottery; Porcelain Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+65.219 |
