Chinese Porcelain
Blue and White Ming wares 1368-1644
Page 1
China has a long tradition of ceramics manufacture. The earliest pieces date from prehistoric times, when pottery was used as a burial offering or for the purpose of preserving food. The burial culture became increasingly important under the Han and Tang dynasties. Miniatures of buildings and objects from everyday life accompanied the dead to the next world.
Many technical and artistic innovations arose during the Song dynasty. Green celadon, white qingbai, greyish blue junyao, and the vividly painted cizhou pottery are characteristic of this period. Ceramics became a favoured collector's item at the imperial court and among the elite.
The first porcelain was developed in China. Cobalt import from Persia enabled the production of blue paintings under the glazing. Jingdezhen evolved to become the centre of the porcelain industry, which stood under imperial patronage. As a result of its high quality, porcelain from the Ming period became a desired export commodity and an important source of income. (Source: Keramiek Museum Princessehof, Leeuwarden)
Blue and White Ming wares 1368-1644 - Page 1
Object 201066
Bowl
China
Ming period (1368-1644)
Height 65 mm (2.56 inch), diameter of rim 146 mm (5.75 inch), diameter of footring 57 mm (2.24 inch), weight 276 grams (9.74 ounce (oz.))
Bowl on footring, slightly everted rim. Decorated in underglaze blue with a floral scroll design. On the bottom two animals in a double circle. On the base a rectangular paper collectors label that reads '6'. Finely crackled glaze.
Condition: Two frits to the rim and a chip to the inner footring.
Reference:
Price: € 399 Currency Converter
Blue and White Ming wares 1368-1644 - Page 1
Object 201044
Dish
(Southeast) China, Zhangzhou (Swatow)
1522-1566
Height 30 mm (1.18 inch), diameter of rim 185 mm (7.29 inch), diameter of footring 100 mm (3.94 inch), weight 289 grams (10.19 ounce (oz.))
Dish on footring, flat rim with foliated edge. Crackled glaze. Decorated in underglaze blue with a ch'i-lin, its head facing the moon with stylised emblems and clouds, encircled by a double concentric band. The sides are undecorated. On the rim a border with sketched characters in between a criss-cross pattern.
A similarly shaped and decorated dish was excavated from the wreck of the Dutch East India Company, (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, VOC) vessel the Witte Leeuw (1613). Its properly excavated and documented cargo included many pieces of kraak porcelain in a wealth of varieties. (Pijl-Ketel 1982, p.207, inv.no:11875)
For similarly decorated dishes, please see:
- The ceramic load of the "Witte Leeuw" (1613), (C.L. van der Pijl-Ketel, catalogue Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1982), p.207, inv.no:11875.
- Chinese Porcelain in Habsburg Spain, (C. Krahe, Centro de Estudios Europa Hispánica, Madrid 2016), p.233, cat. 145.
Condition: Perfect.
References:
Price: € 399 Currency Converter
Blue and White Ming wares 1368-1644 - Page 1
Object 201067
Small dish
(Southeast) China, Zhangzhou (Swatow)
1573-1620
Height 26 mm (1.02 inch), diameter of rim 142 mm (5.59 inch), diameter of footring 73 mm (2.88 inch), weight 151 grams (5.33 ounce (oz.))
Small dish on footring, flat rim. Decorated in underglaze blue with a feng-huang, or Chinese phoenix, standing in a landscape on rocks, surrounded by a thin border of scrolls. The sides are undecorated. On the rim a banda border with a flower, a lozenge, a cash and an artemisia leaf, precious Buddhist objects tied with ribbons. On the reverse two elongated stems with three tiny peaches and on the sides three small flower sprays.
For a similarly decorated dish, please see:
Condition: Perfect, some wear to the glaze on the rim.
References:
Price: € 399 Currency Converter
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