“Garniture”, set of five vases

Set of white porcelain vases – baluster-shaped vases, gourd-shaped vases and jar – with a “black mirror” glaze and a barely perceptible gilded decoration. All the pieces present traces of a floral decoration, framed by two large lambrequins, on the shoulder and next to the base. A frieze of small ruyi heads makes the link between the neck and the shoulder. At the base, a double blue circle. The name of “black mirror” was given to the pieces produced during the Kangxi Period, which have an intense shine. The black glaze was achieved by using a mixture of iron oxide and manganese-cobalt; it was applied in numerous layers, being fired at high temperatures until the desired shade was obtained. In general, the monochrome pieces were decorated with gold dust and then fired afterwards. (Extract from Catálogo do Inventário de Cerâmica do Palácio Nacional de Queluz, Inês Ferro, pp. 44 and 45).