Ming and Qing dynasty colored porcelain

Author: Zhao Jing (Compiler)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-01-01
Features: The Ming and Qing dynasties were the peak periods of high development and prosperity for Chinese colored porcelain. Colored porcelain is divided into two major categories: overglaze and underglaze. The history of underglaze painting can be traced back to the Changsha Kiln of the Tang Dynasty. The Changsha Kiln used brown, green, and blue pigments to paint on the porcelain body, with patterns including various colored dots, flowers and birds, figures, animals, and poetry. The techniques were skillful, and the compositions were aesthetically pleasing, opening up new avenues for porcelain decoration. However, the underglaze painting of the Changsha Kiln was fired on celadon-glazed porcelain, which differed greatly in style from the thin-body white-glaze colored porcelain of later generations. During the Song and Jin periods, colored porcelain saw new developments. The Cizhou Kiln system produced white-glaze black-painted, white-glaze brown-painted, green-glaze black-painted, and white-glaze red-green-yellow-painted porcelain. The Ding Kiln produced white-glaze black-painted, white-glaze red-painted, white-glaze gold-painted, and black-glaze gold-painted porcelain. The Jingzhou Kiln produced white-glaze brown-painted porcelain. The variety was rich, the styles diverse, and the painting themes extremely extensive, including various patterns, flying birds, animals, flowers and birds, fish and insects, figures, and poetry. The compositions were novel and lively, with a natural and free artistic style. Except for red, green, yellow, and gold, which were painted over the glaze, all others were underglaze. This book includes 184 exquisite pieces of Ming and Qing dynasty colored porcelain from domestic and international collections, with 65 in color, including the newly discovered "Yixing Five-Color Porcelain." The preface introduces the era-specific characteristics and artistic value of colored porcelain from different periods.