Museum

Despite that the blue-and-white porcelain wares of the Zhengtong reign inherit the style of those made in the Xuande reign, some new features were added for innovation. From then on, domestic cobalt pigment rose to the dominant. Typically, jars adopt three clear sections: shoulders, stomach, and foot ring.

Porcelain wares with carved floral designs over a pearl-pattern ground imitate the embossed silverware. Originated from the Tang dynasty and became popular in the Song dynasty, such style was widely adopted by northern kilns, including those in Hebei, Henan, and Shanxi. The colors of pearl-pattern ground and the arrangement of pearls slightly varied from kiln to kiln.

This lidded jar is decorated with yellows dragons flying among waves on a red background. Gold tracery is applied to the outlines and details of the motif. Dragon among clouds typifies the decoration of Qing court items, demonstrating the imperial dignity.

The motifs were all carved on the unglazed biscuit before craftsmen glazed and fired the jar at low temperatures. Within the diamond shaped panels around the stomach are motifs of dragon among clouds. The eight Buddhist emblems decorate the jar above and below the panels. Dragon among clouds typifies the decoration of Qing court items, demonstrating the imperial dignity.

A plain tricolor porcelain ware was made by filling the colors in the carved pattern parts, which was left unglazed, on a biscuit coated with transparent or colored glaze layer that has been fired at high temperatures. The firing process is different from the tricolor pottery made in the Tang dynasty, although both of them are known as “tricolor”. The “plain tricolor” indicates the exclusion of red. The Wanli reign mark in regular script (kai shu) is inscribed on the bottom in blue cobalt color.

Apart from the ruyi-head cloud patterns decorating the mouth rim and the tendril embellishing the foot, the vase is painted with interlocking lotus flowers all over. A plain tricolor porcelain ware was made by filling the colors in the carved pattern parts, which was left unglazed, on a biscuit coated with transparent or colored glaze layer that has been fired at high temperatures. The firing process is different from the tricolor pottery made in the Tang dynasty, although both of them are known as “tricolor”. The “plain tricolor” indicates the…

The pot got its name for its resemblance to monk‘s cap at the mouth rim. It was made after the metal vessel used in Tibetan Buddhism. The white glaze is popularly known as “sweet white”, a special glaze type developed by the imperial kilns in Jingdezhen during the Yongle reign. Smooth and glossy, the glaze color creates a sweet feeling.

The glaze contains copper to present the red color in a reducing atmosphere at high temperatures. It is quite difficult to achieve a smooth, lustrous effect because very strict firing conditions are required. When fired, the melting glaze drips down exposing the biscuit, and consequently forms a white edge at the exposed area, which is popularly known as “oil lamp wick”.

The pot got its name for its resemblance to monk’s cap at the mouth rim. It was made after the metal vessel used in Tibetan Buddhism. The glaze contains copper to present the red color in a reducing atmosphere at high temperatures. It is quite difficult to achieve a smooth, lustrous effect because very strict conditions are required during firing. This is a masterpiece of the Zhengde reign.

The glaze color resembles that of the sesame jam. Vessels with dark-reddish-brown glaze manufactured by official kilns in Jingdezhen are characterized with standard shape, mellow and pure color, and thick glaze layer demonstrating the “orange peel” pattern under light. This dish typifies those made in official kilns at Jingdezhen during the Xuande reign.

A copper-based colorant is used to achieve this glaze color effect similar to the peacock’s feather. It is a new development to the plumbic-green glazed ceramics fired at low temperatures. The bowl typifies those of imperial provenance during the Zhengde reign.

The cup is a fine porcelain ware imitating the ancient bronze prototype jue cup. It has an oval-shaped mouth and is covered by an openwork copper lid with a coral knob. The stomach is decorated with rings of rectangular spiral pattern, animal masks, and drum-nails. The Mohammedan-blue glaze shows purplish-blue color. The color of the biscuit is exposed where the glaze layer is relatively thin. The base is left unglazed and inscribed with a six-character Jiajing reign mark. With the pigment imported from West Asia and fired at high temperatures,…

Cizhou kiln is located in Handan, Hebei province. Known as “Cizhou kiln style”, the decoration style of black design on a white ground of Cizhou wares reflects the unrestraint and bold artistic styles adopted by non-official kilns. Such wares are often painted with landscape, birds and flowers, and figures, or are inscribed with poems, song-lyrics, and couplets, similar to Chinese ink paintings.

Liulichang kiln is located in Chengdu, Sichuan province. The Liulichang kiln, located in Huayang of southwest China’s Sichuan province, was famous for yellow and green glazed porcelain vessels with carved and incised decoration. Made with vivid design and simple craftsmanship, Liulichang porcelain wares demonstrate a strong local style.

Archaeological findings and surviving objects show that most tricolor pottery pillows of the Song dynasty are dominated by green color and are complemented with yellow, white, and brown, without blue. This coloration is fresh and lively. Human figures, bird and flower, and animals were popular decoration motifs.

The craftsman applied a layer of white decoration clay to the biscuit and carved motifs on it. Then he removed the rest of layer to make the design raised and applied transparent glaze over the body. In so doing, the result porcelain ware has raised decorative motifs, and shows clear contrast of color between the motifs and the clay body.

The special glaze is named after the densely distributed oil-drop shaped marks. Looked through pure water, the bowl well look like a staring night; while looked through tea, the marks radiate golden light. Compared with objects excavated from different kiln sites, this dish is considered to have been made in Ci kiln in Shanxi province.

Resembling shallow relief, the floral motif is carved on the black glaze layer with the rest removed to expose the clay body of the vase. In the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties, such decoration technique was widely adopted by kilns across the country. This vase was excavated from Tianzhen county, Shanxi province.

Jizhou kiln is located in Ji’an, Jiangxi province. Exemplifying the Song dynasty porcelain wares, this bowl integrates multiple decoration techniques–the papercut floral design in the well, rabbit-hair-streak glaze in interior wall, and tortoise-shell glaze in exterior wall. However, the most notable decoration is the plum blossom in the center of the bowl well.

The vase is artistic with a few raised lines as decoration. In Song and Jin (1115-1234) dynasties, kilns in Henan, Hebei, Shandong produced black-glazed vases decorated with white raised lines, either in single or plural forms, adding liveliness to the monochrome glaze.

The jar was commonly seen in kilns of north China. The simple brown floral design made of scarce brush strokes adds liveliness to the dark body. The craftsman ground iron ore rich in ferric oxide into pigment and painted on the biscuit that had been applied with black glaze. After fired at high temperatures, the floral design showed rust-like color, which made it dubbed “rust floral design.”

The Khitan Liao dynasty tricolor pottery wares were similar to the famous Tang dynasty tricolor wares. Both of them were fired at low temperatures. The Khitan Liao dynasty tricolor pottery wares carry strong ethnic characteristics: yellow, white, and green are the most popular colors, with peony and herbaceous peony dominating the floral designs.

Flambé porcelain was a Yongzheng-era imitation of Song dynasty high-temperature glazed ware. This beautiful jar with flambé glaze has a blend of red, light purple, pale blue and other colors. The quality of the glaze is natural and fluid. Complemented by a simple and elegant form, the effect is aestethically satisfying.

After firing, each piece of Yongzheng-era “clair-de-lune” glaze ware attained a unique look. Some have a deep hue resembling a clear sky after rain; some have a light hue resembling a pale moon. Dragon handles adorn either side of this vase‘s mouth. On the shoulder eight elliptical-shape floral appliqués are stamped. The form imitates Tang dynasty white-glazed or tricolor double-ear dragon vases.

Dehua kiln is located in Dehua county, Fujian province. A translucent white glaze covers this teardrop-shaped vase. A carved floral pattern on the stomach is natural and fluid. Qing dynasty Jingdezhen white glaze often has a faint blue-green quality resulting from iron oxide.

Zun is a wine heater, which was commonly used during the Han and Jin period (3rd century BCE- 5th century CE), primarily with lead-green glaze or yellow glaze. This kind of vessel usually comes with a lid, which is called “Boshan shaped”, after a mountain. This zun was unearthed from Honghuagang, in the countryside east of Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

As a popular decorative motif, dragons often occur in the backdrop of sea waves since according to the old Chinese tale that the four Dragon Kings lived in the Crystal Palace under the sea. The combination of underglazed blue patterns with red paint on the glaze was first developed during the Xuande period (1403-1424) of the Ming dynasty. The red color, varied in hues, give volume to the motifs.

This pot has phoenix decoration in the raised band on the body. The phoenix was a sacred bird in ancient legends and honored as the noble bird from the country of the east. Regarded as an important ancient totem, the earliest phoenix pattern appeared on painted pottery during the Neolithic period, and later was frequently used on porcelain. The proto-porcelain celadon, with early green glaze, appeared during the Shang dynasty. It was a transitional product from pottery to porcelain, which developed from hard ceramics with stamped decoration.

The jar has green glaze on the whole body with net pattern. The net can be called a plaid pattern as well, one of the primary patterns on porcelain. The origin of net pattern can be traced back to the painted pottery of Yangshao (5000-3000 BCE) in the Neolithic period, which reflects the role of fishing and hunting in prehistoric aesthetics.

The granary model evolved from the five-mouthed jar of the Eastern Han period (25-220). Used as a burial object, it features complicated decoration, including a building, birds, animals and dancing-acrobats. This emphasized the castle-like residency and luxurious lifestyle of the noble families.

The ge dish is also known as the “fruit tray”. There is one rectangular ge tray unearthed from a Jin burial at Nanchang, Jiangxi province, which bore the inscription “ge of Wu’s” on the foot. As the shape of these trays is consistent throughout this period, the ancient names seems clear. This period‘s ge usually is rectangular, with one big compartment and eight smaller ones. Initially they had flat bottoms but later the square ring foot was developed.

A new method from late Western Jin period (265-317), decorating with brown spots became common during the Eastern Jin period. It is created by using a so-called zijin tu, which is an iron-rich clay, on the green glaze layer, then firing once at a low temperature. These brown specks scattered on the pure glaze have a pleasing decorative effect.

In ancient times, the spittoon was used as a receptacle for discarding the fish or animal bones during an aristocratic banquet. Porcelain spittoon appeared in the Eastern Han (25-220), and proliferated during the Three Kingdoms and Jin period (3rd century to 5th century).

This is one of four celadon zun unearthed in 1948 from Feng’s cemetery at Jing county of Hebei province, dating from the Northern Wei period. The large vessel is magnificent. Buddhism was widespread during the Northern dynasty. This Lotus zun uses angel-like figures,baoxiang flowers, Bodi tree leaves and lotus patterns of Buddhist inspiration, reflecting the influence of Buddhist art on porcelain in the north. In the south, this period had a similar lotus zun, but with differences in materials, especially glaze components. The similarity in style shows the communication between…

Chinese people regarded the mythical beast qilin unicorn auspicious. Dragon and qilin were rarely seen together in the decoration in earlier blue-and-white porcelain wares. The Zhengtong reign saw a different way of presenting the color and the motif styles from the early Ming dynasty. The iron crystals that existed on earlier porcelain disappeared, too.

The prunus vase (mei ping) is characterized by tall proportions, wide shoulders, narrow foot, and short and contracting neck that can barely hold a single branch of prunus blossom. During the Tianshun reign, the resulted cobalt color diversified into dark blue and pale blue with a grayish tint. This vase was made using imported cobalt blue pigment, with black iron crystals visible. Its tall proportion and thick wall exemplify the blue-and-white porcelain wares dating to the Tianshun reign.

On the exterior wall of this cylindrical incense burner in cobalt pigment are three lines of Persian inscription quoted from the poetry bookBustan written by the Persian poet Sa’di (1209-1292). A three-character reign mark reading “Tianshun years” (Tianshun nian) is written on the interior bottom. The incense burner attests to the archive that the Ming court commissioned eunuchs to resume porcelain production in the dingchou year (1457) of the Tianshun reign after many years’ suspension in Jiangxi where the Jingdezhen official kilns is located since the third year of the…

The “Eight Daoist immortals congratulating the Queen Mother of the West on her birthday” is one of the most widespread folk tales. Conveying the wish for longevity and wealth, it frequently occurs in decorative motifs on various kinds of arts and crafts. Blue-and-white porcelain wares of the Jingtai reign are characterized with a stout body, bluish-white background, and blue motif with a grayish tint.

In Chinese language, the pronunciation for “gourd” (hu lu) is similar to the word for “fortune and wealth” (fu lu). Therefore, gourd is very popular among Chinese people. The gourd-shaped vase was created out of people’s fondness for it. Although gourd is an implement commonly used in Daoist rituals, the lotus decoration on the neck of the vase suggests Buddhism. Such a combination demonstrates the unity of Daoism and Buddhism during the Chenghua reign.

According to the folklore, three brothers of Mao Ying, Mao Gu and Mao Zhong practiced Daoism and medicine on the Maoshan Mountain in the southwest of Jiangsu province. After they became immortals, they had cranes as their mounts. Illustrating this folklore on the burner, the cobalt blue design has blur outlines due to the limitation of the coloration technique. It exemplifies the blue-and-white porcelain made in non-official kilns in the Hongzhi period.

Decorating the exterior and the interior center is the motif of dragons flying among flowers. A two-line reign mark in Mongolian Phagspa script is inscribed within a double-ring on the exterior base, translated as “Made in the Zhengde reign” (Zhengde nianzhi). The dragon, a divine mythological beast that Chinese people worshiped and revered, with interlocking flowers, forms the distinctive decoration.

Designs of dragons flying among flowers, cranes with clouds, and the eight trigrams are all popular motifs on blue-and-white porcelain wares manufactured by official kilns during the Jiajing reign. Large in size and defined by smooth and fine lines, this dish was probably made to meet the aesthetic requirement of the Jiajing Emperor.

The Daoism talismanic symbols are curly stroked graphs that are used for surprising and exorcising evil spirits in Taoist rituals. A fervent Daoist believer, the Jiajing Emperor was extremely drawn to Daoist medicine, divination and relevant activities. Motifs associating with immortality, such as the lingzhi fungus, the eight trigrams, strings of precious stones, the eight Daoist immortals, and cranes with clouds, can always be found on the porcelain wares from the official kilns. This large dish shows refined craftsmanship. It is considered a masterpiece from the official kiln of the…