A rosewater sprinkler with bulbous body and elegant neck, made from beaten copper and decorated with vibrant red, green, blue, and yellow enamels. This technique is thought to have been introduced to China by Jesuit missionaries, reaching its apogee during the Qianlong reign (1735– 1796).[1] It was almost exclusively used as an export ware, for which reason it is known in Chinese as 'foreign porcelain’ (yangci / 洋瓷).[2] The intended market can often be determined by the shape of the vessel. In this case, the form is based on Mughal metal rosewater sprinklers (gulab pash), such as IS.46-1988 in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London. A Canton enamel rosewater sprinkler in the same museum (accession no. 275-1884), dates to the 18th century.

[1] Norris, D., Braekmans, D., and Shortland, S. ‘Technological connections in the development of 18th and 19th century Chinese painted enamels’, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 42 (2022). pp. 1–9; p. 2.
[2] ‘Canton enamel’, Encyclopaedia Britannica, retrieved online via https://www.britannica.com/art/Chinese-pottery on 31/03/2025.