A Chinese blue and white 'Bleu de Hue' bowl from a royal mission for the Vietnamese market, Tân Sửu 辛丑 mark, dated 1841

Dia.: 15 cm - H.: 7,5 cm

The Vietnamese courts dispatched envoys to China to strengthen diplomatic ties between the two countries. Beyond their official missions, these envoys also visited Chinese ceramic kilns to commission high-quality porcelain, bringing it back to meet the specific needs of the Vietnamese courts. Mandarins requested year marks on the bases as mementos of their once-in-a-lifetime embassies to the Chinese emperor. These date-marked pieces correspond to the years of the embassy journeys, serving as historical artifacts of the period. Only a very limited number of these pieces are known to exist today.

The Tân Sửu (辛丑) mark of 1841 is linked to two embassies sent to the Chinese emperor that year, each dispatched for the following reasons:

1. King Minh Mạng passed away on January 20, 1841. Immediately, a delegation was sent to inform the Chinese emperor of his death and to introduce his eldest son, who had served as crown prince for 34 years, as the successor under the dynastic name Thiệu Trị (紹治). This inaugural embassy was led by Ambassador Lý Văn Phức (李文馥).

2. In the same year, a second embassy was dispatched from Hue to the Chinese emperor, led by Ambassador Hoàng Tế Mỹ. The mission’s primary objective was to negotiate the official name of the country, Đại Nam.

Provenance:
- The collection of Dr. Claus Vollers, German ambassador in Vietnam, 1981-84.
- The collection of Thomas Ulbrich, Studio Tho, Hanoi-Berlin, acquired from the above.

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