Ask the Scholar

This flower vase is covered in a light peach bloom glaze and flaunts a variety of colors. A uniform pearly pink ground speckled softly with darker pink is freckled with brown transmuted spots on the shoulders and clouded with light green on the long straight neck. The body resembles the bulbous shape of a round apple. The foot bears the spurious reign mark of Xuande (1426-35).The technique of peach bloom glazes dates to the reign of Kangxi (1662-1772), invented through attempts to revive the red glazes of Ming dynasty emperors Xuande or Chenghua. Kangxi period copper-red wares with a spurious reign mark of Xuande appear often. The modulation of the peach bloom glaze is created by blowing a copper-oxide glaze on the vase and covering that with a clear glaze; when fired, the inconsistent spray of copper would create various shades of red or oxidize green. The effects of this copper glaze resemble the skin of a peach (the French peau de pêche) or apple, the reds and greens often referred to as "apple red" (pingguo hong) or "apple green" (pingguo jung).