Qing Dynasty Kangxi Reign Mark (1661-1722) Bird and Fruit Wucai (5-colour) Bow
清康熙銘(1661-1722)五彩菓鳥碗
Dimension of the bow is 20 cm (top diameter) x 8.9 cm (height); Foot 8.7 cm (diameter).
The wucai porcelain is a kind of overglaze decoration porcelain which is made by firing the already-fired plain base painted with a few colorful patterns in the colorful kiln with 770 - 800 degrees Celsius. It features rich colors, with red, yellow, green, blue, purple etc as the basic hue. As it has clear lines and the firing temperature is slightly higher than that of famille rose, and the color not so soft, it is also called "yingcai" (literally, hard color).
Wucai is a new variety of the Jingdezhen Kiln during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. As blue paint did not exist in the Ming Dynasty, blue-and-white took the place where blue color should be presented, hence the name "blue-and-white wucai". It then became a feature peculiar to the age, with wucai in the Jiajing and Wanli Periods as the representatives.
The Wucai fired in Kangxi's reign is the most well-known among all those in the Qing Dynasty. Other than red, green, yellow, brown and purple paints, overglaze blue was newly made to replace underglaze blue-and-white, and golden and black paints were also extensively applied, which added resplendence and flamboyance to its color.
中國古代瓷器的產生和發展，經歷了從原始瓷器到成熟的青瓷，又由青瓷發展到白瓷，而後再由白瓷發展到彩瓷將近二千年的歷程。其中，從青瓷到白瓷的轉變，是在唐宋時期完成的；而由白瓷到彩瓷的轉變，則是明清時期實現的。明清時期彩瓷的發展和盛行，使中國古代陶瓷進入了一個鼎盛時期。
何謂五彩瓷，據《陶雅》上說：“康熙硬彩，雍正軟彩。”又據《飲流齋說瓷》中解釋：“硬彩者彩色甚濃，釉付其上，微微凸起。軟彩者又名粉彩，彩色稍淡，有粉勻之也。”五彩瓷器，基本色調以紅 、黃、綠、藍、紫等五色彩料為主，按照花紋圖案的需要施於瓷器釉上，再二次入爐經過700——800攝氏度的高溫二次錇燒而成，其特點是創造了釉下青花與釉上彩料相結合的裝飾方法。 真正康熙時期的五彩瓷是相當珍貴的，瑰麗多彩，品種繁多。