Wall vase first appeared in Wanli Period, Ming Dynasty (1573-1620). People hung it on their walls or on the bedside pillars. According to historic documents, ancient people put flowers into the wall vases so that they could enjoy the fragrance from their beds.

The production of china reached its peak during the Qianlong Period, Qing Dynasty. The official ware was famous for its variety and delicacy. Being easy to store, wall vases were abundant on the market. The production has continued since the Qianlong Period, but those products are not as exquisite as those of Qianlong Period’s.

Qianlong Wall Vases’ Characteristics

In the late Ming Dynasty (1573-1620), people no longer favored huge wall vases. In Qianlong Period, the wall vases turned delicate and luxurious. Emperor Qianlong favored wall vases so much that he frequently wrote poems about them. Every time he went hunting, he’d bring wall vases with him to collect wildflowers along the journey. He also requested that his officials engrave his poems on the vases.

Decoration

Qing wall vases in Qianlong Period frequently employed luxurious color accents. The most used colors were purple, yellow, green, blue, and red. To correspond to the so-called heyday, auspicious patterns were employed on the vases.

Style

There are gourd-shaped and square wall vases, and also wall vases in other shapes.

Pattern

The wall vases full of patterns retained their ancient essence and absorbed Western artistic manifestations. The creativity embodied in the vases peaked at this time.

It is worth mentioning that Qianlong wall vases were often engraved with the emperor’s poems and paintings. Different kinds of calligraphy and poem structures were used.

The following are eight official wares of Qianlong Period collected by Guangdong Museum. These wall vases reveal their special relationship with the Emperor.

Qianlong Yellow Consecrated Wall Vase with Poem