Vase with Scene from the Dragon Boat Festival

The Qing Dynasty followed immediately after the Ming. Some say it was the most successful of all the Chinese dynasties. The Qing dynasty was founded by the Aisin Gioro family of the Manchus. Despite that the capital Beijing had fallen into the hands of the Manchus, southern China was not completely under their control before 1683. The resistance continued under a number of Ming dynasty princes and because of the strong loyalty towards the Ming, the Qing court was not able to order any "Imperial" porcelain from Jingdezhen in the southern Jiangxi province. It was the "transitional period" when some remarkable good quality pieces were made for Scholars and Mandarins, and some for export to Japan and Europe via the Dutch East India Company. Decorated in a spontaneous, naturalistic style, the subjects often taken from book illustrations and prints. A vertical cloud often occurs as a divider in the decoration. Borders of thin lines incised near the top and foot rims and a clear blue color on a white paste are characteristic features.

• Vase with Scene from the Dragon Boat Festival - PICRYL - Collections