A VERY FINELY PAINTED GRISAILLE PORCELAIN BOWL WITH A SEA LANDSCAPE, China, underglaze blue Yongzheng six-character mark and period - It was under the Yongzheng Emperor that decoration in black ink only, possibly influenced by European sepia wares, first appeared. It was also during this period that imitations of other materials in ceramics were first attempted. The Yongzheng edition of the Jiangxi tongzhi (General Description of the Province of Jiangxi) published in 1732 and compiled by Xie Min, governor of Jiangxi province between 1729 and 1734, lists the range of ceramic wares produced for the Imperial palace during the Yongzheng era under the supervision of Superintendents Nian Xiyao and Tang Ying. No. 40 in Xie Min's list mentions the making of porcelain decorated in black ink. This new technique allowed the painter to closely follow the style of traditional Chinese landscape painting, with details of figures, flowering plants and birds all executed with shading, so as to reproduce the light and dark strokes of brush-and-ink drawing. This category of wares would have been among the emperor's favourites, with the simplicity of the design accurately reflecting his very fine taste. It also satisfied his great fondness for traditional Chinese ink painting. Cai Hebi, in her introduction to the Special Exhibition of Ch'ing Dynasty Enamelled Porcelains of the Imperial Ateliers, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1992, p. 12, quotes an edict from 1732 in which the emperor praises the making of sepia wares and says, 'For Grand Minister Hai Wang to transmit the following edict: The enamel paintings in sepia are all exceedingly fine. Employ the two painters Tai Heng and T'ang Chen-chi as enamel painters and remove the paintings brought as samples of their works. Also remove the sample paintings by T'ang Tai. The work of the others is all fine, and they may remain. By Imperial Command. Have the painters Tai and T'ang transferred to enamel painting - Good condition