Qianlong Yellow-Ground Famille-Rose Sgraffiato Bowl

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A yellow-ground 'famille-rose' sgraffiato bowl seal mark and period of Qianlong well potted with steeply rounded sides and flared rim, the exterior finely decorated with two detached composite flowering sprays, each with scrolling foliate stems, one bearing a large hibiscus bloom and various smaller flowers, the other a peony with smaller flowers, painted in coloured enamels on the pale lemon-yellow ground finely engraved with dense sgraffiato scrollwork, the rim edged in gilding, the interior and base glazed in white, the base inscribed with a six-character mark in underglaze blue, wood stand and box (2) 18.5 cm. Provenance: Helen Ling, Singapore, September 1963

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Gilding - Gilding is a method of ornamentation whereby a thin sheet of gold metal is applied to items made of wood, leather, ceramics, glass and silver for decorative purposes.

For furniture including mirrors, the sheet of gold is usually applied over a coating of gesso. Gesso is a mixture of plaster of Paris and gypsum mixed with water and then applied to the carved wooden frames of mirrors and picture frames as a base for applying the gold leaf. After numerous coats of gesso have been applied, allowed to dry and then sanded a coat of "bole", a usually red coloured mixture of clay and glue is brushed on and allowed to dry, after which the gold leaf is applied. Over time parts of the gilding will rub off so the base colour can be seen. In water gilding, this was generally a blue colour, while in oil gilding, the under layer was often yellow. In Victorian times, gilders frequently used red as a pigment beneath the gold leaf.

Metal was often gilded by a process known as fire gilding. Gold mixed with mercury was applied and heated, causing the mercury to evaporate, the long-term effect of which was to kill or disable the craftsman or woman from mercury poisoning. The pursuit of beauty has claimed many victims, not the least of which were the artists who made those pieces so highly sought after today.
Foliate - Decorated with leaves or leaf-like forms.

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