FOUR FAMILLE ROSE BLACK-GROUND OCTAGONAL BEAKERS AND SAUCERS Yongzheng period, circa 1730 Each beaker brightly enameled on the four main exterior faces with a large upright basket containing a pink tree peony flower, the four shorter sides at the angles with two chrysanthemum heads amongst scrolling green tendrils reserved on a lustrous black ground, the saucers enameled en suite but with one flower head in each black-ground panel. saucers 4 3/4in (12cm) across, cups 2 5/8in (6.8cm) high (4). Footnotes: 雍正時期 約1730年 粉彩黑地花卉紋八方杯盤四組 Published Cohen & Cohen, Tyger Tyger!, Antwerp, 2016, p. 38, no. 16 (six beakers and saucers) 出版： 倫敦Cohen & Cohen古董行，《Tyger Tyger!》，安特衛普，2016年，頁38，圖版編號16(杯盤六組) The very desirable 'black' color was created by combining two different mineral glaze colors. Firstly, the ground color which was initially a matt black wash was painted over the clear glaze. To achieve a lustrous rich black finish, a second translucent apple-green glaze wash was then carefully painted on top of the black. When fired together in a low temperature 'muffle' kiln, this combination fused to produce a spectacular lustrous black finish which was clearly appreciated in the early 18th century. 'Famille noire' (as French scholars renamed this rare mixed enamel in the md 19th century) became positively venerated in the late 19th century by the richest American and European buyers of the grandest Chinese porcelain. It is believed that Henry Clay Frick paid his New York neighbor, the Fifth Avenue mega-dealer Joseph Duveen, over UD100,000 shortly after 1900 for a splendid 'famille noire' (black overglaze enamel) vase that is further overlaid with a translucent green enamel and is now still on view in the Frick Mansion in New York. There is another version called 'famille noire on the biscuit,' referring to Chinese ceramics where this black enamel is painted directly onto the unglazed surface of the vessel. References: a single example from the Samuel Putnam Avery Sr. (1822-1904) Collection, was in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, accessioned in 1879, deaccessioned in 2016. This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: ¤ ¤ Without reserve