Chinese painted enamels: a condition survey of the collection at the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology

Abstract

The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, University of Oxford, holds a collection of 56 eighteenth and nineteenth century Chinese painted enamels. A number of terms have been used to describe these objects including Chinese enamelled copperwares, Canton or Cantonese enamels, and Peking or Beijing enamels. The objects are originally constructed in copper which is then enamelled on both sides. The enamel coating is an opaque glass-like material which is fired onto the metal structure. Polychrome enamels are hand painted onto the fired surface and the object re-fired to fuse them to the base coat of enamel. The hand painted enamel decoration gives the technique its name. This study centres on the condition of the Ashmolean Museum's collection which is assessed through a survey. The effect of historic use and restoration on the collection is discussed. The survey is complimented by a case study where the condition of one object in the collection is described in detail.