Antique Lamps – Celadon’s Cloak
Celadon is just one of the beautiful glazes used on Chinese ceramics. The colour is derived from iron and ranges in tone from putty to sea-green. It is also intended to reflect the wide range of greens found in jade. It is usually greenish, high fired and applied to the surface of white porcelain.
We should remember that in 17th century Europe, porcelain was known only by rare examples from China. No one is sure of the real story behind the name ”Celadon”, but two rather romantic stories survive.
The first entails the French, who were captivated with this new and refined ceramic ware. The story tells of the name being derived from a shepherd, the principal character in a popular 17th century, French pastoral romance, L’Astrée by Honoré d’Urfé. In this early operatic style production, the hero “Celadon” was characterized by a pale green cloak and it is supposedly from this cloak that we now identify the jade green glaze!
It was the French, who, in fact, not only gave us the name for this colour but also a full range of other sublime coloured glazes, still used as standards in the West today to identify the major range of Chinese ceramic colours. Some of these names will be familiar such as “Famille Jaune”, or, the yellow family of glazes in which yellow is the predominant colour, “Famille Noir”, or the black family of coloured glazes, “Famille Rose”, or the pink family of colours and “Famille Verte”, or the green range of glazes.
The second story that persists is another romantic tale, this time set in the Middle East. This jade green porcelain was greatly prized throughout the East and we know from court records that in the year 1171 Salah-ed-din (Saladin) Sultan of Egypt, sent as a gift, 40 pieces of this ware to Nur-ed-din, Sultan of Damascus. It is from the name of the Sultan “Salah-ed-din” that the name “Celadon” is said to have been derived.
This version of the two stories is thought to be the most probable, however, it really is a case of which story you prefer!
Wherever the name originates, the glaze we know as “Celadon” is today still as popular as ever with its elegant, cool, jade green depth of colour
A very decorative pair of mirror image, Chinese Celadon table lamps.
The shaped lamps with a pale Celadon glaze and fitted with naturalistic handles.
The lamps decorated with mirror shaped reserves well painted in polychrome enamels with subjects of Mandarin pheasants perched in peonies and water birds at a lotus pond. The lamps with original gilded copper caps, standing on well carved custom made rosewood bases.
This pair of well proportioned lamps were made around the turn of the 20th century and have been restored and rewired to original condition.
Overall height (including shades) 19″/48cm Circa 1900
The Antique & Vintage Table Lamp Co specialise in antique table lamp lighting with an on-line range of over 100 unique, antique and vintage lamps on view.
Lamps are shipped ready wired for the U.S, the U.K and Australia.
You are invited to visit their web site at www.antiquelampshop.com
© The Antique & Vintage Table Lamp Co 2009
About the Author
Maurice Robertson, principal of The Antique and Vintage Table Lamp Co , has had a lifetime’s association with antique porcelain and pottery,with his commercial experience spaning a period of 40 years,including as a valuer to the Australian Government’s Incentive to the Arts Scheme. His long experience with antique ceramics and glass also includes dealing with leading museums and numerous international private collections. He has extended his ceramics expertise into the quality table lamps seen on the company’s site, he is well known to local and international interior designers who have included many of his table lamps in their projects and has also supplied items of national interest to the official Sydney residence of the Australian Prime Minister.
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