In the selection of ceramics which I am studying from The Burrell Collection, seven wares from a total of nine, including one bowl and six small plates, are decorated in underglaze cobalt blue style.

Cobalt Blue is a brilliant blue colour derived from the element, cobalt. Mixing the element with a pigment creates a bright blue paint like substance, which has been used since the middle of the fourteenth century to decorate white Chinese ceramics. The cobalt blue is brush painted onto the ceramic underneath a protective glaze, hence the term ‘underglaze cobalt blue’, to describe the painting method used in decoration of these ceramics.

Moreover, the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty is said to have seen the peak in the technical perfection of blue and white porcelains as the cobalt blue was "a deep and beautiful sapphire against a pure white background and the glaze was clear, brilliant and smooth." 3

If we compare this description to the cobalt blue works collected by Sir William Burrell we find that the description fits beautifully.  The image on the right boasts vibrant sapphires againts a crystal white background.

In the nineteenth century, French ceramic collector, Albert Jaquemart divided the coloured ceramics of the Qing Dynasty into specific categories according to their most predominant colour. 4

He called these categories famille verte (green), famille rose (pink), famille jaune (yellow) and famille noire (black).

A ceramic decorated in famille verte is decorated mainly in green colours. Many different and brilliant shades of green would be used in these works. Unlike cobalt blue ceramics, green is not the sole colour to be found on famille verte ceramics. Other colours such as brick red, yellow, aubergine and turquoise are also present, though not as vibrant and overpowering as the greens. Also unlike the cobalt blue ceramics, famille verte ceramics leave little room for white, as can be noticed if we compare the two types

figure1

figure 2

The large dish and bowl in The Burrell Collection, depicting scenes from The Story of the Western Wing, are decorated in famille verte enamels. If we examine them at a glance or from far away, the colour which penetrates the eye is green. However closer inspection reveals a more varied and subtle palette. These ceramics are delicately detailed and interesting as a result.

It has been noted that famille verte ceramics frequently depict scenes of romance, often with "tall, elegant young ladies" (Margaret Medley, The Chinese Potter: A Practical History of Chinese Ceramics, Oxford, 1976, p.243.) This observation could be an exact description of Burrell’s famille verte ceramics. The women on the balcony in the Chinese bowl (figure 1) all seem to have particularly elongated bodies in comparison to the male figures. Furthermore, in the Chinese dish (figure 2) Oriole’s body is taller and more elegant than Crimson’s.