Museum

This vase is four-sided with cut-off corners. While the interior wall is glazed in a pine green color, the exterior is glazed in “sky-clearing blue” with a gold lotus pattern. The vase has four rectangular openings that contain familie rose paintings of mandarin ducks and lotuses, peach blossoms and sparrows, asparagus ferns and praying mantis, and peonies and chrysanthemums. The colors are reserved and elegant. The juxtaposition of the deep blue ground and gold painting creates a handsome effect.

This vase has a flaring mouth-rim, a long neck and a melon-shaped body. On the two sides are handles in the shape of dragons. It is covered with sixteen colors of glaze. From the top to the bottom the glazes include gold, purple-ground and green-ground famille rose, Ge-style celadon, blue-and-white, turquoise green, flambé, “contending colors”, Ge celadon, blue-and-white, green-ground famille rose, red-ground with gold painting, Guan-style celadon, and cloud blue with gold painting. They are separated by some stripes of gold glaze. The patterns on the vase include interlocking flowers…

The red-glazed bowl has a flared mouth rim, a tapering body, and a foot ring. The mouth rim is left white. The design in gold of two dragons pursuing a pearl decorates the bowl’s interior and exterior. Near the bottom, around the outside, a ring of abstract lotus petals was painted in gold. Now the gold paint has faded away, but the dragon design is still clear. White glaze was applied inside the foot ring. Compared with red-glazed porcelain ware of the Yongle period (1403-1424), those produced during the Xuande…

This ware imitates the ancient bronze prototype. The blue glazed is as lustrous as sapphire, and is brightly shiny with the gold paint. The yiewer was unearthed from a cellar in Baoding, Hebei province in 1964, along with blue-glazed small cups and dishes with gold motifs.

With wide mouth, deep, bow-shaped belly, and ring foot, the bowl resembles a six petaled flower. There are substantial abrasions to the white glaze which covers the entire body. Six tags are attached to the inside of the bowl, including, in counter clockwise order: Tag no. 1: No. 360 (written in Suzhou numerical system), [checked] (vermillion seal), [the character “Yan“] (probably added in a later time) Tag no. 2: [the character “Re“] (referring to Rehe [Jehol], today’s Chengde, Hebei province, the location of the Mountain Villa for Escaping the Heat…

The vase has a contracting garlic-head mouth, short neck, wide shoulders, swelling body gradually tapering downwards and slightly upturned foot. The exterior is covered with pale pink glaze, a kind of low temperature red glaze which contains gold, while the interior and bottom are white glazed. In the double foot-ring is carved a seal in blue-and-white with the date of manufacture that translates, “Made in Yongzheng period of Qing dynasty.” The graceful vase has lustrous paste and unctuous uniform glaze. The pale-pink color compares to the peach blossom in March….

The bowl has a flared mouth that tapers to the foot ring. The interior is glazed with white and the exterior is rouge-red. The thin paste is gracefully shaped. On the foot-ring is a double-border seal in blue-and-white with the date of manufacture written in regular script that translates, “Made in Yongzheng period of Qing dynasty”. The rouge-red bowl is uniformly glazed and smooth. Set off by clear glaze on the interior, it is even more charming. The manufacturing process required first firing the bowl with clear glaze, after which…

The red-glazed bowl has a flared-mouth, a swelling body and a foot ring. On the greenish-white glazed foot ring is printed a seal in blue-and-white with the date of manufacture written in regular script that translates, “Made in Xuande period of Ming dynasty”. The seal is enclosed with blue-and-white double borders. Red glazed ware technique flourished during Xuande reign in the Ming dynasty. Compared with red-glazed porcelain ware in Yongle period (1403-1424), those produced during the Xuande period enjoyed a significant increase in total number and have greater variety in…

With a copper-rimmed wide mouth, deep, bow-shaped belly and a ring foot, the bowl has an offwhite glaze. It has several glaze drips that look like tear stains. Cao Zhao, a connoisseur of the Ming dynasty, remarked in his book on connoisseurship, Discussing Antiquities Case by Case (Ko Ku Yao Lun) “old Ding ware always has tear stains on the exterior, otherwise they are fake”. The tear stain is a natural phenomenon during firing of the porcelain. Transparent glazes melt at a high temperature and flow vertically because of gravity….

The round incense burner has straight sides, a raised transverse ridge on the stomach, three legs and a flat bottom. The foot is unglazed with a rough texture. The interior is glazed except the base. The white-glazed exterior is decorated with a text written in brown, meaning “Honorable grandfather Lu Yaoyu and grandmother Lady Zhao, Honorable grandfather Gao Wenbu and grandmother Lady Chen, my Honorable grandfather Zhengzhai and grandmother Lady Lin, written in 1782 (Qianlong 47th year)”. According to the inscription, this incense burner was a device used during sacrificial…

Ru kiln is located in Qingliangsi, Baofeng county, Henan province. According to historical records, agate was used as the main material of glaze in porcelain manufacturing in Ru kiln. In fact, the major composition of agate is silicon dioxide, so is the ordinary glaze. The introduction of agate would not make any difference to the quality of the glaze, but reveals the “do it at all costs” attitude in making imperial wares. There are three spur marks as tiny as sesame seeds at the bottom of the washer, which were…

Covered with sky-clearing-red glaze, the vase has a small mouth, a short neck, wide shoulders, a slightly downward tapering body and a white nephrite-disk-shaped bottom, on which is written a blue-and-white seal in regular script with the date of manufacture: “Made in Kangxi period of Qing dynasty”. The seal has no borders. The regular-shaped and uniformly-glazed vase indicates that the high temperature copper-red porcelain, which failed to be handed down from the middle period of the Ming dynasty, was rejuvenated in the Jingdezhen imperial kiln during the Kangxi reign. The…

The vase has a slightly flared mouth, a straight neck, a swelling body and a foot ring. A vigorous peach tree is painted on the exterior with a thick trunk and nine peaches hanging from the branches. Next to it is a China rose. On the foot-ring is a Qianlong reign mark in seal script in blue-and-white. The famille-rose porcelains of the Qianlong reign were richly ornamented with auspicious natural objects, commonly done in refined brushwork, distinctive arrangement and abundance. This vase uses wash applied by hand from light to dark with rich colors, the…

The vase has a small mouth with everted rim, a short neck, wide shoulders, a slightly tapered stomach and a lid with a small knob. The exterior is covered with blue-and-white glaze, decorated with S-shaped cloud design on the shoulder and disconnected sprays of floral ornamentation, fruit patterns on the stomach, slightly upward lotus-petal design and acanthus design around the foot. On the top of the lid is a plantain leaf design and a flower-leaf pattern on the walls of the lid. The Chinese prunus vase was prevalent from the…

The name “chicken heart bowl” indicates a small bowl with a flared-mouth and a narrow foot. The bowl is covered with designs in blue-and-white. In the center are disconnected sprays of loquat design encircled by the double rings. The interior is decorated with winding stem pattern and a wave pattern near the mouth while the exterior is glazed with a chrysanthemum-petal pattern and at the rim a rectangular spiral pattern. All the fields of decorations are separated by thin blue-and-white lines. The foot-ring is glazed white with no reign mark….

The teapot has a round body, a swelling stomach and a flat bottom. Above the cover is a loop-shaped tri-handle, tactfully bowing in a natural way. The round lid slightly bulges with a knob imitating a Taihu stone. The yellow clay is close-textured. The handle fits into the body so well that the teapot is characterized by liveliness and artistic balance. After the mid Qing dynasty most of the single loop-handled teapots were changed to double-handled which have greater stability and artistry.

The plate has a flared-mouth with double lines around it, a slightly curved wall and a foot ring. On the interior within the double blue-and-white borders is painted pines, bamboos and prunus against a garden rock with Lingzhi and grasses. On the exterior are painted several figures in the garden surrounded by rocks, potted landscapes, balustrades and trees. A lady quietly sits while two children play happily. On the bottom is a blue-and-white seal in seal script that translates “Made in Qianlong period of Qing dynasty”. During the Qianlong period…

Period: Chenghua reign (1465-1487), Ming dynasty (1368-1644) The cup has a slightly flaring mouth, a tapering body and a concave foot. The polychrome design depicts hens and their babies pecking in a garden. From the Chinese rose and orchids growing around the garden rocks, we know that the time is early spring. No glaze was applied around the concave foot. At the center of the foot, the mark “Made in Chenghua reign of the Great Ming”(Da Ming Chenghua nian zhi) was inscribed in two vertical lines. The cup is noted for…

Kiln: Jun kiln Period: Northern Song dynasty (960-1127) Date: undated Jun kiln is located in Yuzhou, Henan province. There are two reasons why Jun kiln was listed as one of five great kilns of Song dynasty producing porcelain wares for the imperial court of the Northern Song dynasty. One is the unique glaze color, and the other is the elegant shape. This sky-blue glazed tripod flowerpot stand decorated with drumnails is one of the best Jun wares in terms of shape and glaze color.

  Kiln: Cizhou kiln Period: Jin dynasty (1115-1234) Date: undated Cizhou kiln is located in Handan, Hebei province This pillow has black decorations on all sides except the bottom. Although the decorations vary in subject matters, they are in good composition. The mark at the bottom indicating the producer serves as a trademark. Cizhou kiln is one of the most famous non-official kilns in north China during the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127). Cizhou wares are characterized with underglaze-black and brown decorations on a white ground. Porcelain pillows from Cizhou kiln were well known…

Period: Eastern Jin dynasty (317-420) Date: undated Named for the spout’s shape, the chicken-head ewer appeared in the late Wu period of the Three Kingdoms (222-280). The Eastern Jin’s chicken-head spout has the mouth of chicken with a round hole, instead of a pointed beak, and a curved handle instead of a chicken tail. The shape was well-designed being easy to carry and pour. The earliest color glaze in Chinese porcelain, “celadon” is not purely green, but has various tones of yellow, green, and greenish blue.

Period:Tang Dynasty (618-907) Height: 118 cm, Width: 50 cm The figurine wears a helmet, atop which perches a bird with unfurled feathers. He has furrowed eyebrows, glaring eyes, an open mouth, and bared teeth. His right hand rests on his hip, and his left hand makes a fist in the air. He is adorned in a type of ancient Chinese armor known as “bright-light” armor. Dragon figures shield his upper arms. He also wears a skirt belted with a front plate and shin guards. He stands atop an ox reclining…

      The camel has two humps, round eyes, and an open mouth as if bellowing. It stands on a rectangular base. The head, neck, humps, and saddle pad (a blanket under the saddle) are glazed. Parts of the head, neck, and humps are painted brown. The saddle pad is glazed in green and brown and ornamented with rhombic patterns, medallions, and tassels along the rim. The body and legs of the camel are unglazed. The two species of camel are the dromedary (one-humped) and the Bactrian (two-humped). The…

Period: Tang dynasty (618-907) Dimensions: height: 76.5 cm, length: 88 cm The horse has upright ears, round eyes, and an upward curling tail. The docile creature stands on a base. It is outfitted with a bridle, a head collar, a saddle pad, a saddle, mudguards, and reins with almond leaf shaped ornamentations. The glazed exterior is painted in white, green, and brown. The legs are vividly molded. It is evenly proportioned and true to life. The early Tang rulers inherited a northern Chinese cultural tradition that had long been influenced…