The story of the unique vase with the inscription "Created in Khai Dinh year"

Ordered ceramics (ceramics signed by style) is the name for ceramics designed by Vietnamese artists in the "Painting and Painting Bureau" (畫匠局) of the Nguyen Dynasty with specific requirements for style, pattern, decoration, inscription... then sent to ceramic kilns in China for production. Ordered ceramics of the Nguyen Dynasty appeared mainly under the reigns of the kings: Gia Long, Minh Mang, Thieu Tri, Tu Duc and Khai Dinh. In each period, ordered ceramics will have a unique character associated with that king. In particular, under the reign of King Khai Dinh, despite the appearance of European-style signed ceramics, the king continued to order porcelain from China as a continuation of the dynasty's tradition. In the collection of Nguyen-style signed ceramics at the Ho Chi Minh City Museum of History, there is a very unique artifact in terms of art and origin, which is a unique vase ordered under the reign of King Khai Dinh.

Việt Nam•27/02/2025

The unique vase has the inscription "Created in Khai Dinh year"

The vase has the symbol BTLS.449, is 86cm high, and has a mouth diameter of 27cm. In general, the outside of the vase has two large decorative panels: The first decorative panel is around the neck of the vase with the theme of birds and flowers, the second decorative panel is around the body of the vase with the theme of a pair of pheasants and peonies. The images of pheasants and peonies are both familiar themes and have auspicious meanings. Pheasants appearing with peonies is a perfect combination, it not only symbolizes brilliant beauty but also represents prosperity, royalty and wealth. Notably, the motifs on the vase are all embossed, covered with five-color enamel, creating a visual effect for the viewer. The shoulder of the vase has a hexagonal stripe, about 15cm wide, which acts as a separation between the two decorative panels. On this inscription, there are 4 boxes, each box has 1 Chinese character, combined to form an inscription indicating the time of production: 啟定年造 “Khai Dinh nien tao” (Made under King Khai Dinh).
According to historical records, during the reign of King Khai Dinh, in preparation for the king's 40th birthday in 1924, the royal court sent people to Guangdong (China) to order many types of pedestals, flower pots, coasters and large-sized vases in 1921 and 1924 to bring back to decorate the palaces in the capital Hue. During this period, the king not only ordered blue and white porcelain as tradition, but also ordered multi-colored porcelain, five-color porcelain, and porcelain with embossed motifs. Currently, the Hue Royal Antiquities Museum is storing a number of vases that were previously displayed at Can Chanh Palace. Among them, there is a vase with decorative motifs identical to the vase in the Ho Chi Minh City History Museum. Thus, this was originally a pair of vases among the artifacts that were used to decorate Can Chanh Palace.
This unique vase with the inscription “Khai Dinh nien tao” decorated with five-color enamel is also one of the special cases, contributing to enriching the color palette of Nguyen Dynasty-style porcelain. The unique vase with the inscription “Khai Dinh nien tao” at the History Museum is an artifact in the collection of the Blanchard de la Brosse Museum, collected during the period 1929 - 1954. In August 2024, the artifact was first introduced to the public in the thematic exhibition “Ancient Wonders – A Convergence of Cultures”. We invite you to take a look at the beauty of this unique vase.

REFERENCES
1. Tran Duc Anh Son (2008), Nguyen Dynasty style porcelain, Hanoi National University Publishing House.

Source: https://www.baotanglichsutphcm.com.vn/ban-tin/cau-chuyen-ve-chiec-doc-binh-hieu-de-khai-dinh-nien-tao