The technique of painting porcelains over the glaze in the famille rose palette of opaque and semi-opaque enamels was perfected at the Jingdezhen kilns of Jiangxi Province in the eighteenth century, during the reign of the Qing-dynasty Yongzheng emperor (1723–35). By the nineteenth century, the rather delicate application of these early famille rose enamels to the ceramic canvas had given way to a much more aggressive treatment. Now the ornamental style reflects a horror vacui, and every bit of the surface is covered with boldly depicted motifs. This heavily potted bowl, with its scroll of exotic flowers painted in vibrant polychrome enamels against a bright yellow ground, is a striking example of overglaze enameled porcelains of the late Qing dynasty.

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