Famille jaune, noire, rose, verte

Famille jaune, noire, rose, verte are terms used in the West to classify Chinese porcelain of the Qing dynasty by the dominant colour of its enamel palette.

The colours found in famille verte are typically green, red, yellow, blue and aubergine (non-vivid purple).

It continued to be made in small amounts in the subsequent periods, and its popularity revived in the West in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

They may have a copper-green lead-based enamel painted over dry black cobalt ground on the biscuit, and a transparent green glaze was then applied, giving it a near-iridescent appearance.

The colour palette was introduced in China during the reign of Kangxi (1654–1722), possibly around 1720, but perfected only in the Yongzheng era when the finest pieces were made.

Famille rose is named after its pink-coloured enamel, although it ranged from pale pink to deep ruby.

[9] Research has failed to show that the chemical composition of the pink colour pigment on famille rose to be the same as that of the European one.

Rudimentary famille rose have been found in Chinese porcelain from the 1720s, although the technique was not fully developed until around 1730 during the Yongzheng period.

The pink of the early pieces of the 1720s were darker in colours made with ruby-coloured glass, but after 1725 softer shades were achieved by mixing with white enamels.

[13] Fencai is the more modern term used by Chen Liu (陈浏) in the early 20th century and it then replaced yangcai in Chinese usage.

The images may be painted on coloured grounds, including yellow, blue, pink, coral red, light green, 'cafe au lait' and brown.

[18] Famille rose enamels were known to have been used in Europe before its usage became established in China, for example in Vienna porcelain made by the Du Paquier factory in 1725.