Navigation – Plan du site

AccueilNuméros43I. Kangxi et Yongzheng : les ambi...Aspects of a Multi-Faceted Proces...

I. Kangxi et Yongzheng : les ambiguïtés du Yongzhe cadeau diplomatique

Aspects of a Multi-Faceted Process: The Circulation of Enamel Wares between the Vatican and Kangxi’s Court (1700-1722)

Aspects d'un processus protéiforme. La circulation des émaux entre le Vatican et la cour de Kangxi (1700-1722)
Emily Byrne Curtis
p. 45-60

Résumés

Aspects d'un processus protéiforme. La circulation des émaux entre le Vatican et la cour de Kangxi (1700-1722)La documentation existante offre une chronique du débarquement de verre et d’émail vénitien à la cour de Pékin. Cet aspect de la contribution de Venise aux échanges culturels entre l’Europe et la Chine a été jusqu’à présent peu pris en considération – une omission à laquelle les archives mobilisées dans cet article permettront de remédier afin d’offrir une autre perspective sur la production de produits émaillés sous la dynastie des Qing (1644-1912).

Haut de page

Texte intégral

1Existing documentation chronicles the transshipment of Venetian glass and enamels to the court in Beijing. This aspect of Venice’s contributions to the cultural exchange between Europe and China has been somewhat overlooked. The records cited in this paper will hopefully correct this omission and introduce another perspective into the production of enamel wares during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). This article includes documents from the holdings of the Archivio Storico di Propaganda Fide, the Jesuit records of the Archivum Romanum Societatis Iesu, the papal documents housed in the Archivio Segreto Vaticana, and the Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana. Additionally, it may be observed that while the first two archives are located in Rome, the latter two are housed within the precincts of the Vatican City.

  • 1 Aleni’s Xifang dawen (A Geography of the Countries) is the subject of John L. Mish’s study (Mish 1 (...)
  • 2 Aleni’s portrait, in wood-block form, may be found in Taixi Siji Ai xiansheng yulu (Quotations fro (...)
  • 3 The copy in use here is the one found in the archives of the BAV: Borgia, Cinese, 350 (30).
  • 4 BAV: Borgia, Cinese, 350 (30), juan 2, 11b. The inscription on the illustration may be rendered as (...)
  • 5 Aleni deliberately made no mention of the tension between the church, state, and the Protestant re (...)
  • 6 BAV: Borgia, Cinese, 350 (30), juan 1, 18a. Aleni’s curious reference to a bridge with three arche (...)
  • 7 BAV: Borgia, Cinese, 350 (30), juan 1, 19a-19b. Eugenio Menegon (1994: 143) refers to Murano’s gla (...)

2One of the manuscripts in the Bibliotheca Apostolica Vaticana was, for example, composed by the Jesuit missionary Giulio Aleni (Ai Rulue, 1582-1646). Originally from Brescia, Republic of Venice, Aleni spent many years in the province of Fujian. Since this area specialized in low cost and quick printing, he was able to write and supervise the wood-block printing of many books.1 Aleni’s command of the Chinese language and literary achievements became so noteworthy that Chinese scholars gave him the soubriquet “The Confucius of the Occident.”2 His Kunyu tushuo (An Illustrated Explanation of Geography) was composed by ca. 1620, and while its illustrations are not representative of the best of Chinese wood-block engraving, the volume is remarkable for the variety of subject matter shown in its prints.3 Some of them depict wonders of the Western world such as the Colossus of Rhodes guarding that Mediterranean harbor, others strange animals, while one print shows a great ship typical of the vessels Europeans used for their long sea voyages.4 Aleni’s text includes a survey of the four continents. The section concerning Europe (Yixiba) begins with a somewhat idyllic description of the continent as a place of harmonious relations and cultural pursuits.5 Six folio pages are devoted to Italy (Yidaliya), beginning with a passage that describes the city of Rome, its Pantheon, fountains, and splendid papal court. Progressing on to Venice (Wunuojiya), the text informs us that it is governed by an elected member of the nobility (the Doge). The city is situated on the water and has a centrally located bridge with three marble arches, where business is conducted.6 This is followed by what may well be the first Chinese written mention of Murano’s glass-making activities – an important theme, which as mentioned above will be referred to and developed throughout this work. Regarding the glass, Aleni noted that its artisans knew how to prepare all the necessary materials, which enabled them to succeed in making perfect vessels: they make the most beautiful glass.7

  • 8 APF: Scritture Originali della Congregazione Particolare dell’Indie e Cina, vol. 7, f. 479-480.

3Some of Venice’s famous glass wares are listed among the objects sent to China in 1700. Although this document from the Archivio Storico di Propaganda Fide is somewhat sparse with its background information, its heading does state that its contents were intended for “P. Cassio di S. Luigi”, a missionary in China. Thus, in addition to various glass objects recorded, mention is also made to “Collane di Smaltini,” and “L Argentiglie [sic] con fiocci di Smaltine neri.”8 However, records pertaining to the three papal legations sent to the Qing court are more specific with regard to the exchange of enamel wares. Having mentioned the existence of three legations from Rome, it should be noted that this paper will confine itself to studying the documentation for the two missions sent during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor (r. 1661-1722).

An Exchange of Enamel Wares

  • 9 The term procurator in the Society of Jesus of that day had three different meanings. One of them (...)
  • 10 Rouleau 1962: 279-281, 311.
  • 11 ARSI: Japonica/Sinica, vol. 138.

4By 1704 Pope Clement XI had appointed Charles-Thomas Maillard de Tournon (Duo Luo, 1668-1710) as his Legate and sent him to China with presents for the emperor. The Pontiff also trusted that he would be able to establish an apostolic delegation in Beijing. In preparation for the Legate’s visit, the Jesuit Kilian Stumpf (Ji Li’an, 1655-1720) was designated by his superiors as procurator with the added faculty of Notarius Apostolicus. He was charged with handling on the behalf of the Jesuit communities all business related to the apostolic visitation.9 One of Stumpf’s tasks was to keep an exact journal of everything that happened during the day with respect to the legate’s mission.10 Thus, Stumpf was present at the historic meetings between the Daren (great personage) from Rome and the emperor of China. His meticulous account of the proceedings resulted in a manuscript of some 1,446 pages, known as the Acta Pekinensia, which is regarded as one of the significant holdings in the Archivum Romanum Societatis Iesu.11

  • 12 Rouleau 1962: 277-8, 312 (note 10).
  • 13 “Sono ora stima le cosé lavorate con smalto bené le piccole, e di smalto di Venezia, …Tabacchiere (...)

5On 31 December 1705, Kangxi received de Tournon in a solemn audience with honors never before accorded to a visiting dignitary. The legate profited by the occasion to say that he had come to express the Pontiff’s esteem for the emperor and to thank him for protecting those who taught the faith in China. He also mentioned his desire to institute mutual contacts between the two rulers. As related in de Tournon’s account of this interview, everything had proceeded in an atmosphere of perfect mutual understanding, with the emperor displaying a heart-warming kindness. Kangxi also expressed his desire to reciprocate the papal gifts, and asked de Tournon to render an account to the pope of the reception accorded him and the current state of affairs.12 Therefore, on 4 January 1706 de Tournon sent Clement XI a glowing report of the court, its reactions to the Pontiff’s gifts which included the following comments: “Small items, well-worked with enamel, are now esteemed, and Venetian enamels, …especially enamel snuff boxes.”13 As recorded in the Acta Pekinensia, de Tournon had also informed the Pope that Kangxi was familiar with European mathematics, astronomy, and algebra – with its numbers, mechanical devices, music, painting, and so forth.

  • 14 For further details about Stumpf’s glass-making activities, see Curtis 2001.
  • 15 APF: Scritture riferite nei Congressi, (Indie orientali e Cina), vol. 9, f. 258v, 24 or 25 Februar (...)
  • 16 See ARSI: Japonica/Sinica vol. 137, f. 53v, and APF: Scritture riferite nei Congressi, (Indie orie (...)

6Returning to de Tournon’s observations, they suggest that the Beijing court was familiar with Venetian glass and enamel wares. Supporting documentation indicates that in addition to such imported examples, Kangxi had access to similarly styled ones from his own glassworks. In fact, Kilian Stumpf was attached to the Beijing court as the founder and director of the sovereign’s imperial glass workshop. This glassworks also made the color enamels required to decorate various wares.14 Thus, it is not too surprising to find that during the course of de Tournon’s first audience, Kangxi had given him an “enamel snuff bottle” (una tabaccherina smaltata).15 The Legate was especially pleased to have received the snuff bottle directly from the hands of the emperor.16 Regrettably, neither document mentions the composition of the bottle’s base material, a deficiency we do not encounter in the following documents.

  • 17 APF: Scritture riferite nei Congressi, (Indie orientali e Cina) vol. 9, f. 276v.
  • 18 APF: Scritture riferite nei Congressi, (Indie orientali e Cina) vol. 12, f. 344, 27 April 1713.

7An entry from the diary kept by the legate’s own chancellor, Andrea Candela is quite detailed. The papal legation had been invited to attend a great fireworks display, during which Kangxi sent to de Tournon “an enameled glass snuff bottle of his Majesty’s own use” (una tabaccherina di vetro smaltata di uso di S. Mta.).17 As corroboration of this event, the enameled glass snuff bottle was subsequently recorded in an inventory of de Tournon’s personal effects Candela made on 27 April 1713 (“una tabaccherina di vetro smaltata, dato a S. Em. dall’ Imper.. di China”).18 These references provide documentation for the imperial glass workshop’s production of enameled glass wares a decade earlier than was previously supposed.

  • 19 Guoli Gugong bowuyuan 1977: vol. 6, 602-06. Also Chang 1991: 99.

8For many years researchers outside of China were reluctant to accept Kangxi painted enamel wares as being genuine. This premise overlooked the existence of official Chinese records such as a memorial dated to the eleventh day of the ninth month of the year 1716, in which Chen Yuanlong, the governor of Guangxi province, expressed his appreciation for the emperor’s gracious gift of four pieces of imperially manufactured (yuzhi) enamel painted ware.19 They consisted of a red glass snuff bottle decorated with polychrome (wucai) enamels, an octagonal inkstone box, a water pot, and a round incense container. Chen professed to be especially honored by this gift of enamel ware, as it had never before been bestowed upon officials. It is also the first known reference to painted enamel wares in official Chinese archives for the Kangxi period. Furthermore, Chen’s statement indicates that their existence was already well established in court circles. It is also reminiscent of the enameled glass snuff bottle Kangxi had given to de Tournon.

  • 20 Liu 1991: 52, and Guoli Gugong bowuyuan 1977: vol. 7, 357-58. Zuo Shiyong was provincial military (...)

9Additional documentation may be found in the memorials submitted by Zhao Hongxie, an official in the Ministry of War, and Zuo Shiyong, a provincial military commander of Guangxi. In the second month of 1717, Zhao thanked the emperor for his gift of a covered bowl of painted enamel ware, while Zuo’s memorial dated to the thirteenth day of the sixth month, 1718, mentions Kangxi’s bestowal of an enamel water vessel together with an enamel snuff bottle.20

Technical Innovations

  • 21 Werner 2008: 71-3.
  • 22 ARSI: Japonica/Sinica 186, f. 55-59v, 31 July 1725, f. 58.
  • 23 Zhang 1986: 343.
  • 24 Shi and Zhou 1993: 102-5.
  • 25 APF: Scritture riferite nei Congressi, (Indie orientali e Cina) vol.14, f. 139v, 8 September 1715.

10Prior to his arrival in China, Kilian Stumpf had attended the Jesuit college in Mainz. One of the instructors at this institution was Christoph Diem, SJ, whose extensive knowledge of glassmaking included knowledge of the latest modes to produce crystal and ruby glass. Diem’s most likely source for such information was probably Johann Rudolph Glauber’s Miraculum mundi (1653). In his text, Glaubler revealed that he had utilized colloidal gold (gold dispersed as fine particles) to make ruby color glass.21 That this technology had been transmitted to China has been confirmed by missionary accounts and the analytical studies conducted by Chinese researchers. With regard to the former, another Jesuit, João Mourão (Mu Jingyuan, 1681-1726), wrote that Stumpf knew how to produce colored glass and enamels (“…vidro, nem esmalte, nem ile sabiao dar as cores”).22 As to the latter, the results of scientific investigations revealed that the red, pink, and purple enamel colors used to decorate Kangxi period porcelains had been prepared from ruby glass which contained colloidal particles of gold.23 This trait was also detected in specimens of ruby glass from the collection of the Beijing Palace Museum.24 This suggests the existence of an exchange between the European glass and enamel color technology practiced at the imperial workshops, and that being used on Chinese porcelains and at other glassmaking centers such as Boshan. In keeping with these findings, one might also consider Matteo Ripa’s (Ma Guoxian, 1682-1746, an Italian priest sent to China by the Propaganda Fide) mention of having to paint enamel wares with a combination of “the colors used here to paint porcelain and with several large pieces he [the emperor] had brought from Europe.”25

  • 26 D’Incarville 1812: vol. 3, 126-7.

11Nonetheless, while Stumpf knew how to make glass and enamel colors, it is highly unlikely that he was able to produce them in exactly the same manner as German glass makers. He would have had to adapt to local conditions with regard to raw materials and kiln environment. An example of this may be the fuel used to fire the furnaces. Stumpf came from a region where the glass houses used wood to fuel the furnaces; in Beijing glass makers used coal.26 This alone would have required quite a few adjustments and experimentation, as the volatile ingredients resulting from combustion create a different environment in the kilns.

  • 27 ARSI: Japonica/Sinica 186, f. 55-59v, 31 July 1725, f. 58.

12From some of the documentation cited above, we may infer that this was a time of extensive experimentation during which Chinese artisans adapted this technology and developed it into a creative repertoire which was quite different from its European counterpart. Apropos of this, Mourão also wrote that Chinese artisans had taken what they had learned from Stumpf and in their ingenious manner used this knowledge to fashion some extraordinary objects (“...fazen Hoje obras muito curiozas”).27 Thus, when studying the composition of the Chinese enamels utilized during the early 18th century, one has to also factor in that some of their origins may be traced back to Germanic lands.

The Second Legation

  • 28 A list of the Persone Destinate per il Servizio dell’ Impe may be found in APF: Scritture Original (...)
  • 29 ASV: Fondo Albani 263, f. 54, 1719. Nota de’ Regali chesi potrebbero mandare in Cina.
  • 30 Chen 1932, Document 6, as translated by Antonio Sisto Rosso (Rosso 1948: 299-300).
  • 31 APF: Scritture Originali della Congregazione Particolare dell' Indie e Cina, vol. 26, f. 295v, 3 M (...)
  • 32 Ju 1989: 8 and 16, n. 37.

13Since the first papal mission had not succeeded in establishing formal relations between the Vatican and the Kangxi emperor, the Vatican decided to send another legation. It chose the highly experienced diplomat, Carlo Ambrogio Mezzabarba (Jia Le, 1685-1741), and a group of missionary artisans, who presumably might find favor at the Beijing court.28 The Vatican also selected the gifts Mezzabarba would present to the emperor with great care and forethought, paying particular attention to the suggestions the missionaries already stationed in China had made in their correspondence.29 Preserved among the Chinese documents concerning the legations from Rome is a letter addressed to Clement XI.30 It was written in 1714 by the aforementioned Ripa and the Lazarist Teodorico Pedrini (De Lige, 1671-1746). In it they explain to the Pope the “kindness and generosity” the emperor has shown to all foreigners. “As to the science of music,” the letter continues, “the August Emperor has indeed penetrated its principles, and ordered me, De Lige [Pedrini], to explain the fine points every day to their Highnesses his third Son, the fifteenth Son, and his sixteenth Son, and to compile a new book.”31 Pedrini had also petitioned Rome to send antimony, enamels (“antimono non preparato, smalti”), and a particular variety of aventurine glass. The latter was a specialty of the Venetian glassworks, and one which Chinese glass artisans were trying to emulate (fig. 1). To this may be added Pedrini’s presentation of spectacles to the Beijing court on the second day, fourth month, fifty-seventh year (1717), of Kangxi’s reign.32

Fig. C1. Blue color glass vase enhanced with splashes of sparkling metal particles in imitation of aventurine with dissolved copper particles

Fig. C1. Blue color glass vase enhanced with splashes of sparkling metal particles in imitation of aventurine with dissolved copper particles

18th century, China, h. 19 cm. © Image courtesy of Dr. Alan E. Feen.

  • 33 ASV: Fondo Albani 263, f. 54-55, 1719.
  • 34 ASV: Fondo Albani 263, f. 55.
  • 35 ASV: Fondo Albani 263, f. 341v.

14With the above in mind, it is not too surprising to find that what the Vatican considered for presentation to Kangxi were scores by Arcangelo Corelli, and musical instruments which included violins, violas, a viola de gamba, a flute, a small organ, a “newly invented” type of cymbals, and some good guitars. They were to be ornamented with paintings, and inlays of ivory and ebony. As to the Venetian snuff boxes (Tabacchiere di Venezia), they should be decorated with “modest paintings” (Pitture modeste), of clothed figures placed in the interior. Items of mineral aventurine, and enamels are mentioned, as well as the antimony and the aventurine glass requested by Pedrini.33 One also finds an entry for “Occhiali [convex lenses] fini di Venezia di varie viste, e di varÿ colori.”34 The total sum spent on these gifts (regali) is listed as having added up to some 2,255.46 scudi.35

  • 36 Rosso, using western calendar dates, gives Mezzabarba’s audience at court, 31 December; and the pr (...)
  • 37 OFM: Archivio Generale, Ripa, M/H 8/1 (A-72), 1721, p. 23. Mezzabarba made a further presentation (...)
  • 38 APF: Scritture Originali della Congregazione Particolare dell’Indie e Cina, vol. 29, f. 139-151, 1 (...)
  • 39 “3 Belliconi o vero Bicchieri grandi con piede alto assai, e suoi coverchi, il corpo de quali è di (...)

15In December 1720 the emperor granted Mezzabarba a solemn audience at court. Two days later, the legate sent the emperor the Pope’s gifts.36 They included many pieces of Venetian glass wares, and Ripa, who was present, not only recorded the emperor’s acceptance of the cristalli di Venezia, but that Kangxi found them very pleasing and had commented upon their rarity.37 The list of these gifts is recorded in a document preserved in the holdings of the Archivio di Propaganda Fide.38 It may be divided into three sections, the first of which begins with the heading, Nota de i Cristalli provisti... The contents reveal a highly detailed list of the above-mentioned Venetian glass wares selected in 1719, for their eventual shipment to China. Some of these wares had been decorated with a filigree pattern in shades of red, yellow, and cobalt blue enamel (“1 Catino grande con sua Brocca di Cristallo verde smaltato con filigrana rossa, gialla, e torchina”). It also lists “three high-stemmed goblets, whose covers were enamelled with white filigree, while their stems were decorated with flowers in various enamel colors. A similar floral pattern adorned their covers, with two of them further embellished with a dove, while the remaining one had a large flower on it.”39

  • 40 “Nota de Cristalli divisi in quattro Casse provedute a Venezia da Mons. Nunzio Aldrobrandini, che (...)
  • 41 “Nota de’ Regali che dovranno presentarsi in nome della Santità di Nostro Sig.re Papa Clemente XI (...)

16The second part of this document, Nota de Cristalli divisi in quattro Casse, details their exact placement within “the four cases supplied in Venice by Mons. Nuncio Aldrobrandini, that will be taken to Genoa by Ecc.mo Sir Silvestro Grimaldi of San Agostino.”40 This inventory of the glasswares appears to match the entries found on the first list. A rather elaborate title graces the third section. It reads: “Note of gifts that will be presented in the name of His Holiness Pope Clement XI to the Emperor of China and other of Court by Mons. Patriarch Mezzabarba, new Apostolic Visitor in those Kingdoms, supplied as the Missionaries in China advised, when they returned to Rome from the precedent expedition of the late Cardinal de Tournon.”41

  • 42 “n.1 Cassa dorata con sei Boccie di Cristallo di Boemia e suoi coperchi simili a vite con diversi (...)

17This is followed with a concise inventory of the Venetian glass vessels, some of which were adorned with white enamel filigree, while others were fashioned in shades of ruby, topaz, and opal glass, and decorated with various flowers and arabesques. As to their forms, one could find basins, jugs, candlesticks, bowls of various sizes and shapes, vases, also “cantinette” with their small carafes, goblets and more. Interestingly enough there is a separate entry for a gilt case which held six bottles of Bohemian crystal with screw shaped covers and, were filled with various liqueurs.42

Imperial Exchanges

  • 43 Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale Firenze, Mss Palatini, 1115, xxvi, 1.
  • 44 Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale Firenze, Mss Palatini, 1115, xxvi, f. 363 or 364(?). These pages are (...)
  • 45 Biblioteca Nacional de Lisboa, F. G. 178, f. 25v-26v.
  • 46 Biblioteca Nacional de Lisboa, F. G. 178, f. 25v-26v.

18It is rare to have such complete documentation for the transshipment of goods from Europe to China. Records pertaining to the export of Chinese glass and enamel wares to Europe for the Kangxi period are of equal scarcity. Fortunately, members of Mezzabarba’s legation kept detailed notations of events from which we learn that at a subsequent audience granted to the Papal Legate, Kangxi sent examples of his glass and enamels wares to Clement XI.43 The Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale in Florence has two copies of a list for these gifts. In it we find entries for Vasa Smaltica 10; ex Porcellana vasa varia 128 and, ex Pekinensi vitro 136.44 This is replicated on the following folio page in a much better script. The Biblioteca Nacional de Lisboa contains several additions in its account for the ten cases of enameled vases.45 They are described as having been beautifully painted (“ex Smalto pulchro de pictar vasa”). We are assured that the 128 various pieces of porcelain were of the “best quality” (ex optima Porcellana), while the entry for the “Beijing” glass matches the above-cited references.46

  • 47 BAV: Borgia, Cinese, 511, (6).
  • 48 Witek 1982: 253-255.
  • 49 Witek 1982: 253-255.
  • 50 BAV: Borgia, Latino, 565, f. 112-121. Catalogue des presents envoies par l’empereur de la Chine – (...)

19Kangxi had also asked Mezzabarba if he would take the gifts he wished to send to the King of Portugal. These are not only listed in the Biblioteca Nacional de Lisboa’s file, but also in a Chinese document.47 According to both sources these presents included cases of glass and enamel wares, but no mention is made as to their appearance. However, an account by the French Jesuit, Jean-Francois Foucquet (Fu Shengze, 1665-1741) provides more details as to the nature of the King’s gifts. Foucquet first met Mezzabarba on 18 May 1721, when the Legate came to the Jesuit house in Guangzhou for dinner.48 Since he had been given permission to leave China and wished to return to France, Foucquet obtained passage on the Prince de Conti. The vessel left Guangzhou on 5 January 1722, and rounded the Cape of Good Hope, by 30 March. But in trying to sail along the western African coast, the officers on the Prince de Conti were unable to sight the island of St. Helena. They decided to head for Brazil, specifically for the Bay of All Saints, which they reached on 9 May. As the vessel was about to enter the Bay, a Portuguese ship approached and opened fire. The French answered with two salvos. Reluctant to engage in battle the officers withdrew and headed straight for the town of San Salvador, which was adjacent to the Bay. The Portuguese suspected that the Prince di Conti was one of the notorious pirate ships then infesting the area. As a result, the governor of the Bay of All Saints, D. Vasco Fernandez Cesar de Meneses, led a two-week inspection of the French vessel. The encounter between these two figures produced a document with important consequences for the study of Chinese glass. At the request of Meneses, Foucquet stayed with the Portuguese Jesuits until he was ready to sail. Meneses asked Foucquet to write a report about his background, and about the ship’s voyage from Guangzhou.49 This was the source of Foucquet’s letter to the Portuguese Viceroy, which is preserved in the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana. Though undated, Foucquet added a note that he delivered it on 30 May 1722. To this he appended a list of the gifts that the Kangxi emperor was sending to the King of Portugal.50

Epilogue: Rare Examples

  • 51 Ibid.
  • 52 Curtis 1999: 149-52.

20Comprising some thirty-nine entries, the catalogue of these gifts includes lanterns, artificial flowers, books, papers, enamel wares, porcelain, tea, ginseng, glass, and pearls. The emperor had selected forty-three pieces of glass for the Portuguese king. They included vases, bowls, cups, plates, and (tea?) pots in two shades of blue, white, and red. Some had gilt ornament, others were decorated with a floral pattern.51 With regard to the two shades of blue they are given as “sky-blue” (tianlan), and “the color of the blue sky after rain” (yuguo tianqing). The latter description was probably derived from that of the mysterious Chai stoneware made during the reign of the Emperor Shizong (r. 921-959) of the Five Dynasties period. When asked for instructions as to the style and coloring of the porcelain he wished to have manufactured the sovereign responded with a line of verse: “When the storm has passed the blue of the sky peeps through a break in the clouds.” Early Ming (1368-1644) writers praised Chai ware with some pertinent descriptions to its color and glaze. It is apparent that their very evocative description of this glaze color was later extended to include imperial glass wares.52

  • 53 See note 50.

21Referring once again to Foucquet’s catalogue, the enamel wares Kangxi had intended for the Portuguese monarch included: a large enamel cup; a large enamel vase; a rouge color enamel pot [sic], and a large enamel cup; enamel flowers; an enameled copper (du cuivre) cup, which was a blue color inside and white outside; an enameled censer with its spoon. Its sticks in a small holder[?]; and a scent box of the same [enamel] material, a coffer.53

  • 54 Biblioteca del Convento di S. Francesco. Bologna, vol. 29, ms 22, f. 254-255v. This manuscript was (...)

22In a twist of fate, these gifts, as well as those for the Pope were lost when Mezzabarba’s ship burnt at the port of Rio de Janeiro in June of 1722. Withal, one small remnant did manage to survive the conflagration. Several days later, a fisherman came to the city and tried to sell eight pearls. Suspecting that they might have been stolen, and aware that among the possessions Mezzabarba had lost were ones from the Qing court, the Governor arranged for the legate to see them. Mezzabarba identified the pearls as being part of the emperor’s gifts, and noted that the five largest ones were missing. Thereupon, the Governor had the fisherman imprisoned. In due course the fisherman explained that he had found the pearls the day after the fire. They were in a small, shell-shaped, enameled box and wrapped in a piece of yellow silk (“conchiglietta di smalto, a drappo di setta gialla”), and had surfaced in the sea by the port.54

23There are two noteworthy points here – the yellow silk and the enamel box. The color yellow was reserved for the exclusive use of the emperor, and its presence in this box alone attested to its imperial origins. At this time the production of painted enamel wares in China was in a formative stage and largely confined to the imperial workshops which were under the watchful eye of the emperor. The verified examples of these wares stand as a testament to the resourcefulness of Chinese artisans in adapting European techniques, which resulted in a true cultural exchange (fig. C2).

Fig. C2. Dish of painted enamels on copper demonstrates the continued development of the palette first introduced to China by Jesuit missionaries in the early 18th century, Qianlong reign (1736-1795), d. 16.2 cm

Fig. C2. Dish of painted enamels on copper demonstrates the continued development of the palette first introduced to China by Jesuit missionaries in the early 18th century, Qianlong reign (1736-1795), d. 16.2 cm

Accession No. 24.80.393, Bequest of Mary Clark Thompson, 1923. © Metropolitan Museum of Art (public domain).

Haut de page

Bibliographie

Primary sources

APF = Archivio Storico di Propaganda Fide, Italy: Rome.

ARSI = Archivum Romanum Societatis Iesu, Italy: Rome.

ASV = Archivio Segreto Vaticano, Vatican City: Rome

BAV = Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vatican City: Rome

Secondary sources

Chang Lin-sheng (1991). “Ch’ing Dynasty Imperial Enamelled Glassware.” Arts of Asia 21/3: 99-102.

Chen Yuan 陳垣 (1932). Kangxi yu Luoma shijie guanxi wenshu yingyinben 康熙與羅馬使節關係文書 [Facsimile Documents concerning the Diplomatic Relations between Kangxi and Rome]. Beijing: Gugong Bowuyuan.

Curtis Emily Byrne (1999). “Foucquet’s List: Translation and Comments on the Color “Blue Sky after Rain.” Journal of Glass Studies 41:149-52.

Curtis Emily Byrne (2009). Glass Exchange between Europe and China, 1550-1800. Diplomatic, Mercantile and Technological Interactions. Aldershot, Ashgate.

Curtis Emily Byrne (2001). “A Plan of the Emperor’s Glassworks.” Arts Asiatiques 56: 81-90.

Guoli Gugong bowuyuan 國立故宮博物院 (1977). Gongzhongdang Kangxi chao zouzhe 宮中檔康熙朝奏摺 [Secret Palace Memorials of the Kangxi Period]. Taipei : Gugong bowuyuan.

Incarville, de, Pierre, S. J. (1812). « Catalogue alphabétique des plantes et autres objets d’histoire naturelle en usage en Chine », in Mémoires de la Société Imperiale des Naturalistes de Moscou, (Moskovskoye obschestvo ispytatelei pirody). Moscou: Imprimerie de L’Université Impériale.

Ju Deyuan 鞠德源 (1989). Qingdai yesu huishi yu xiyang qiqi 清代耶稣会士与西洋奇器 [The Jesuits and Western Rare Objects in the Qing Dynasty], Gugong bowuyuan yuankan 故宮博物院院刊, 1: 3-18.

Liu Liang-yu (1991). Ch’ing Official and Popular Wares: A Survey of Chinese Ceramics. Taipei: Aires Gemini Publishing Ltd.

Menegon Eugenio (1994). Un solo cielo: Giulio Aleni S. J. (1582-1649): geografia, arte, scienza, religione dall’Europa alla Cina. Brescia: Grafo.

Mish John L. (1964), Creating an Image of Europe for China: Aleni’s Hsi-fang ta-wen 西方答問: Introduction, Translation, and Notes,” Monumenta Serica 23: 1-87.

Rosso Antonio Sisto (1948). Apostolic Legations to China of the Eighteenth Century. South Pasadena: P.D. and I. Perkins.

Rouleau Francis A., S.J. (1962). “Maillard de Tournon, Papal Legate at the Court of Peking: The First Imperial Audience (31 December 1705).” Archivum Historicum Societatis Iesu 31: 264-323.

Shi Meiguang and Zhou Fuzheng (1993). “Some Chinese Glasses of the Qing Dynasty.” Journal of Glass Studies 35:102-105.

Werner Lobil (2008). “Itineraries of Glass Innovation: Johann Rudolf Glauber and His Followers.” In Glass of the Alchemists. New York: The Corning Museum of Glass.

Witek John W. (1982). Controversial Ideas in China and Europe: A Biography of Jean-François Foucquet, S. J. (1665-1741). Rome: Biblioteca Instituti Historicum S. I.

Witek John W. (1999). “Sent to Lisbon, Paris and Rome: Jesuit Envoys of the Kangxi Emperor.” In La Missione Cattolica in Cina tra I secoli XVIII-XIX: Matteo Ripa e il Collegio dei Cinesi, edited by Michele Fatica and Francesco d’Arelli, 317-340. Napoli: Instituto Universitario Orientale, Collana “Matteo Ripa” XVI.

Zhang Fukang 张福康 (1986). “Zhongguo chuantong diwen seyou he youshangcai 中国传统低温色釉和釉上彩 [Chinese Traditional Low Fired Glazes and Overglaze Colors].” In Zhongguo gudai taoci kexue jishu chengjiu 中国古代陶瓷科学技术成就, edited by Li Jiazhi 李家治 et al., 333-48. Shanghai: Shanghai kexue jishu chubanshe.

Haut de page

Annexe

Glossary

Ai Rulue 艾儒略 (Giulio Aleni)

Boshan 博山

Chai 柴

Chen Yuanlong 陳元龍

Daren 大人

De Lige 得理格 (Theodorico Pedrini)

Duo Luo 多羅 (Maillard de Tournon)

Fu Shengze 傅聖澤 (Jean-Francois Foucquet)

Guangxi 廣西

Haibo guangda rongzai qian yu ren 海舶廣大容載千餘人

Ji Li’an 紀理安 (Kilian Stumpf)

Jia Le 嘉樂 (Carlo Ambrogio Mezzabarba)

Kangxi 康熙

Kunyu tushuo 坤與圖說

Ma Guoxian 馬國賢 (Matteo Ripa)

Mu Jingyuan 穆敬遠 (Joao Mourão)

Shizong 世宗

Taixi Siji Ai xiansheng yulu 泰西思及艾先生語錄

tianlan 天藍

wucai 五彩

Wunuojiya 勿搦祭亞

Yidaliya 意大理亞

Yixiba 以西把

Yuguo tianqing 雨過天晴

yuzhi 御制

Zhao Hongxie 趙弘燮

Zuo Shiyong 左世永

Haut de page

Notes

1 Aleni’s Xifang dawen (A Geography of the Countries) is the subject of John L. Mish’s study (Mish 1964).

2 Aleni’s portrait, in wood-block form, may be found in Taixi Siji Ai xiansheng yulu (Quotations from Master Ai from the Great West), post-1649, collection of the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, MS Fonds Chinois 1017-II. It shows him in the Chinese mode of dress adopted by the missionaries.

3 The copy in use here is the one found in the archives of the BAV: Borgia, Cinese, 350 (30).

4 BAV: Borgia, Cinese, 350 (30), juan 2, 11b. The inscription on the illustration may be rendered as a “large (in appearance) maritime vessel, which contains many thousand men” (Haibo guangda rongzai qian yu ren). The illustration is reproduced in Curtis 2009.

5 Aleni deliberately made no mention of the tension between the church, state, and the Protestant reformation, or any warfare between the European nations.

6 BAV: Borgia, Cinese, 350 (30), juan 1, 18a. Aleni’s curious reference to a bridge with three arches may allude to one of the designs submitted for the Rialto bridge competition held in the late 1500s. They may have been incorporated into Tirali’s 1668 plans for the Ponte dei Tre Archi, which was erected on the Cannaregio canal.

7 BAV: Borgia, Cinese, 350 (30), juan 1, 19a-19b. Eugenio Menegon (1994: 143) refers to Murano’s glass as being “the first in the world” (Il primo al mondo).

8 APF: Scritture Originali della Congregazione Particolare dell’Indie e Cina, vol. 7, f. 479-480.

9 The term procurator in the Society of Jesus of that day had three different meanings. One of them referred to a Jesuit elected by confrères of a given geographical region or province (Witek 1999: 317- 40).

10 Rouleau 1962: 279-281, 311.

11 ARSI: Japonica/Sinica, vol. 138.

12 Rouleau 1962: 277-8, 312 (note 10).

13 “Sono ora stima le cosé lavorate con smalto bené le piccole, e di smalto di Venezia, …Tabacchiere specialmte smaltaté.” ASV: Fondo Albani, vol. 249, f. 59v, 4 January 1706.

14 For further details about Stumpf’s glass-making activities, see Curtis 2001.

15 APF: Scritture riferite nei Congressi, (Indie orientali e Cina), vol. 9, f. 258v, 24 or 25 February 1706.

16 See ARSI: Japonica/Sinica vol. 137, f. 53v, and APF: Scritture riferite nei Congressi, (Indie orientali e Cina) vol. 9, f. 258v.

17 APF: Scritture riferite nei Congressi, (Indie orientali e Cina) vol. 9, f. 276v.

18 APF: Scritture riferite nei Congressi, (Indie orientali e Cina) vol. 12, f. 344, 27 April 1713.

19 Guoli Gugong bowuyuan 1977: vol. 6, 602-06. Also Chang 1991: 99.

20 Liu 1991: 52, and Guoli Gugong bowuyuan 1977: vol. 7, 357-58. Zuo Shiyong was provincial military commander of Guangxi.

21 Werner 2008: 71-3.

22 ARSI: Japonica/Sinica 186, f. 55-59v, 31 July 1725, f. 58.

23 Zhang 1986: 343.

24 Shi and Zhou 1993: 102-5.

25 APF: Scritture riferite nei Congressi, (Indie orientali e Cina) vol.14, f. 139v, 8 September 1715.

26 D’Incarville 1812: vol. 3, 126-7.

27 ARSI: Japonica/Sinica 186, f. 55-59v, 31 July 1725, f. 58.

28 A list of the Persone Destinate per il Servizio dell’ Impe may be found in APF: Scritture Originali della Congregazione Particolare dell’ Indie e Cina, vol. 30, f. 52, 1721. Among these were sculptor Giovanni Giorgio Sippel (Scipel); painter Michele Arailza; and Niccolò Tomacelli, C.R.M., who was held in esteem for his painting on enamel.

29 ASV: Fondo Albani 263, f. 54, 1719. Nota de’ Regali chesi potrebbero mandare in Cina.

30 Chen 1932, Document 6, as translated by Antonio Sisto Rosso (Rosso 1948: 299-300).

31 APF: Scritture Originali della Congregazione Particolare dell' Indie e Cina, vol. 26, f. 295v, 3 May 1711, and vol. 26, f. 559, ca. 1713.

32 Ju 1989: 8 and 16, n. 37.

33 ASV: Fondo Albani 263, f. 54-55, 1719.

34 ASV: Fondo Albani 263, f. 55.

35 ASV: Fondo Albani 263, f. 341v.

36 Rosso, using western calendar dates, gives Mezzabarba’s audience at court, 31 December; and the presentation of the Pope’s gifts, 2 January 1721 (Rosso 1948: 208, note 34).

37 OFM: Archivio Generale, Ripa, M/H 8/1 (A-72), 1721, p. 23. Mezzabarba made a further presentation of gifts to the throne, some of which were glass wares.’ (Rosso 1948: 377-81). However, in the absence of any further details, we remain uncertain as to their origins. The Papal Legation left Beijing in March 1721, without attaining any of the concessions sought by the Holy See.

38 APF: Scritture Originali della Congregazione Particolare dell’Indie e Cina, vol. 29, f. 139-151, 1718-1720. I am indebted to Paolo Zecchin for his transcription, translation and annotations of this document.

39 “3 Belliconi o vero Bicchieri grandi con piede alto assai, e suoi coverchi, il corpo de quali è di Cristallo smaltato con filigrana bianco, e nel piede di detti vi sono un gran quantità di fiori smaltati di molti colori, e sopra de’ coverchi vi sono i suoi gran mazzi di fiori pure smaltati di varij colori et in due di esse vi è sopra Colomba, e nell’altro un fiori più grande.” While the term Belliconi may have been derived from the German word Willkommhumpen (a salutation drinking glass), the word itself refers to a quite different goblet.

40 “Nota de Cristalli divisi in quattro Casse provedute a Venezia da Mons. Nunzio Aldrobrandini, che si ritroveranno a Genova in potere del S.e Agostino dell’Ecc.mo Sig.e Silvestro Grimaldi.”

41 “Nota de’ Regali che dovranno presentarsi in nome della Santità di Nostro Sig.re Papa Clemente XI all’Imperadore della Cina et altri della di lui Corte da Mons. Patriarca Mezzabarba, destinato nuovo Visitatore Apostolico in quei Regni, proveduti a tenore delle insinuazioni di quelli Missionari che passarono alla Cina coll’antecedente spedizione del fu sig.re Cardinale di Tournon, e sono ritornati in Roma.” APF: Scritture Originali della Congregazione Particolare dell’Indie e Cina, vol. 29, f. 148. Apparently some of the glass was sent to Ripa (Nota delle Balle mandate a Ripa...) for use by Mezzabarba.

42 “n.1 Cassa dorata con sei Boccie di Cristallo di Boemia e suoi coperchi simili a vite con diversi liquori”. Ibid., f. 150v.

43 Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale Firenze, Mss Palatini, 1115, xxvi, 1.

44 Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale Firenze, Mss Palatini, 1115, xxvi, f. 363 or 364(?). These pages are unmarked.

45 Biblioteca Nacional de Lisboa, F. G. 178, f. 25v-26v.

46 Biblioteca Nacional de Lisboa, F. G. 178, f. 25v-26v.

47 BAV: Borgia, Cinese, 511, (6).

48 Witek 1982: 253-255.

49 Witek 1982: 253-255.

50 BAV: Borgia, Latino, 565, f. 112-121. Catalogue des presents envoies par l’empereur de la Chine – au roy [sic] de Portugal, f. 121v-122.

51 Ibid.

52 Curtis 1999: 149-52.

53 See note 50.

54 Biblioteca del Convento di S. Francesco. Bologna, vol. 29, ms 22, f. 254-255v. This manuscript was written by Sostegno Maria Viani, OSM, who had accompanied Mezzabarba throughout the entire course of the China mission. An unauthorized “account” was published with Viani’s name in 1739.

Haut de page

Table des illustrations

Titre Fig. C1. Blue color glass vase enhanced with splashes of sparkling metal particles in imitation of aventurine with dissolved copper particles
Crédits 18th century, China, h. 19 cm. © Image courtesy of Dr. Alan E. Feen.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/extremeorient/docannexe/image/2168/img-1.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 222k
Titre Fig. C2. Dish of painted enamels on copper demonstrates the continued development of the palette first introduced to China by Jesuit missionaries in the early 18th century, Qianlong reign (1736-1795), d. 16.2 cm
Crédits Accession No. 24.80.393, Bequest of Mary Clark Thompson, 1923. © Metropolitan Museum of Art (public domain).
URL http://journals.openedition.org/extremeorient/docannexe/image/2168/img-2.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 1,6M
Haut de page

Pour citer cet article

Référence papier

Emily Byrne Curtis, « Aspects of a Multi-Faceted Process: The Circulation of Enamel Wares between the Vatican and Kangxi’s Court (1700-1722) »Extrême-Orient Extrême-Occident, 43 | 2019, 45-60.

Référence électronique

Emily Byrne Curtis, « Aspects of a Multi-Faceted Process: The Circulation of Enamel Wares between the Vatican and Kangxi’s Court (1700-1722) »Extrême-Orient Extrême-Occident [En ligne], 43 | 2019, mis en ligne le 01 janvier 2024, consulté le 22 mai 2025. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/extremeorient/2168 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/extremeorient.2168

Haut de page

Auteur

Emily Byrne Curtis

Chercheuse indépendante, ses recherches portent sur la production de la verrerie et des émaux en Chine aux xviie et xviiie siècles. Elle est l’auteure de l’ouvrage Glass Exchange between Europe and China, 1550-1800 : Diplomatic, Mercantile, and Technological Interactions (Farnham, Ashgate Publishing Ltd., 2009).
An independent scholar, her research centers on the Chinese production of glass and enamels in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. She is the author of Glass Exchange between Europe and China, 1550–1800: Diplomatic, Mercantile, and Technological Interactions (Farnham: Ashgate Publishing Ltd., 2009).

Haut de page

Droits d’auteur

Le texte et les autres éléments (illustrations, fichiers annexes importés), sont « Tous droits réservés », sauf mention contraire.

Haut de page
Rechercher dans OpenEdition Search

Vous allez être redirigé vers OpenEdition Search