![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.andrewbaseman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/IMG_37811.jpg\" "\\"IMG_3781\\"")
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In honor of Independence Day I am pleased to share with you a Chinese porcelain mug with a fireworks theme, made for export to North America and Europe during the Qianlong period (1736-1795). It stands 4-3\/4″ high and is decorated in the Mandarin style with cloud-shaped cartouches executed in famille rose enamels, and containing\u00a0floral sprigs and a family tableau depicting\u00a0a child lighting fireworks.<\/p>\n
I wouldn’t be surprised if\u00a0during the first organized 4th of July celebration in 1777, a raucous party\u00a0involving the lighting of fireworks forced\u00a0this mug to fly\u00a0off a table and crash to the ground, causing its handle to shatter and the bottom to fall off. Rather than throw out the expensive and cherished mug, it was brought to a local tinker who fashioned a sturdy brass replacement handle. To help insulate the handle from its\u00a0hot\u00a0contents, it was wrapped in decoratively woven rattan. The bottom was reattached to the body using five large brass staples with a bond so tight it could hold liquid without leaking. As china\u00a0menders typically did not sign their work, there is no way to\u00a0know who was responsible for this repair, but I imagine they each had\u00a0their own signature style in weaving the rattan so that they could distinguish their work from each other.<\/p>\n
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