Posts Tagged ‘porcelains’

Later Japanese ceramics
In 1853 Commodore Nlatthew Galbraith Perry of the United States Navy entered Japanese territorial waters, forcing the country to accept diplomatic relations and trade with the West after over 200 years of seclusion. One of the effects of this exposure was the introduction of western technology, and this, coupled with the ambitions of the new Meiji Government after 1868, encouraged expansion. The town of Arita, the traditional home of Japanese porcelain, responded not only by making increasing numbers of conventional wares but also with brilliant showpieces suitable for display at international exhibitions and trade fairs, such as those held in London in the 1860x, in Paris ( 1867), and in Philadelphia ( 1876). The potters in the most important ceramic centres – Kaga, Satsuma, Kyoto and Seto – also benefited from the liberal policies of the Meiji Government. Vast quantities of pottery and porcelain saturated the markets in Europe Lind the USA. Such was the craze for all things Japanese that both impressionism and the Aesthetic Movement were inspired by the imported wares.
The range of Meiji ceramics is vast and includes extraordinarily elaborate and over-decorated earthenwares and the most delicate and flimsy eggshell porcelains. The majority arc generally considered to be of variable quality, especially the blue-and-white Arita and Imari porcelains. The mass-produced wares for the export market rarely correspond to the canons of the traditional Japanese aesthetic; the designs are mostly very busy and often lack coherence. They appear either to reflect a Western picture-postcard view of Japan or to be re-creations of earlier export porcelains. The emphasis was on space-filling decoration such as millefiori (thousand flowers) or overlapping panels of various shapes filled with diverse ornament.
ARITA
Late Imari porcelain (made in or around the town of Arita) consists mainly of decorative vases, bottles, bowls, and dishes; figures or useful tablewares
were rarely if ever made. The majority v of the production was f off-white, poorly levigated
porcelain covered in a thinnish
glaze. Surface pitting, iron flecks, and smudged cobalt indicate the somewhat
casual nature of this mass-produced output. Designs are often partly stencilled with outlines in a variable Underglaze blue, which were then infilled with an orangey iron-red, green, turquoise and gilding. The surface decoration featured either a main subject within complicated borders, or an all-over design made up of small panels showing various non-concordant subjects. For such wares the emphasis was on ornamentation –the “more-is-better” school of thought. Output includes enormous Indian dub-shaped vases with flared and frilled necks; small shallow saucer dishes; globular bottles with tall narrow cylindrical necks; multi-lobed, high-shouldered jars; and large dishes moulded in the form of a chrysanthemum. These wares arc generally unmarked, although many have impressed characters. The best Imari wares at this time were made by the Fukugawa family. In 1894 Chuji Fukugawa founded the Fukugawa Manufacturing Manufacturing Co. in Arita, which produced very refined wares -with symmetrical, soft, smoky -blue underglaze decoration.
Blue-and-white Arita wares are made of the same material as the Imari type, but the designs are not compartmentalized in the same way, relying instead on ordered floral, bird, or animal subjects. Some of the flatwares, especially the smaller dishes, were decorated entirely using stencils.
KAGA AND SETO
Although Kaga on the island of Honshu was a major centre for stoneware, it produced little porcelain of note Until the 19th century. The porcelain from the region around Kaga is known as Kutani ware. There are two basic styles of this: the first uses dark washes of green, purple, yellow, and black; the second, which was made specifically for export to the West, is known as “Red Kutani”. This export ware has a red ground and grisaille decoration showing people in romantic land- and riverscapes enjoying the delights of the season; decoration may also be heightened with gilding. another common type of Kutani ware does not use red.
By the end of the 19th century there were 434 kilns in Seto in Owari Province, producing mainly export wares. The potters generally appear to have made blue-and-white porcelains, some very close in feeling and design to the Chinese porcelains produced during the reign of Emperor Kangxi (1662-1722). Output consisted of thinly potted ornamental vases and teawares, which were sent to Tokyo for decoration.
SATSUMA AND KYOTO
Although Satsuma was an important centre of ceramic production from the 16th century, the town is synonymous with the highly decorative export wares made from the mid-19th century. These cream-coloured earthenwares with finely crackled glazes and thickly applied enamelled and gilded decoration were also produced in the town of Kyoto. Satsuma and Satsuma-type wares were first shown outside Japan at the international exhibitions, resulting in a huge demand for them in the West. While some are of the very highest craftsmanship, many are of rather mediocre or poor quality, intended for sale in department stores.
In Satsuma the Seikozan studio, and in
Kyoto such potters as Kinkozan IV (1824-84) and Yabu Meizan (1853-1934), made extremely fine panelled wares decorated with miniature scenes depicting people carrying out everyday activities like fishing, playing, or strolling in parklands or along riversides. Landmarks such as Mount Fujiama were also depicted, together with animals including monkeys, cranes, pheasants, peacocks, and cockerels, and flowers
Such as chrysanthemums, irises, proms blossom,
and wisteria. Around these panels the ground was embellished with complex patterns or overlapping designs. Wares included koro (incense burners), vases, wine or sake ewers, howls, covered jars, and figures. The most sophisticated wares with the finest-quality decoration appealed to followers of the Aesthetic Movement in Europe and the USA. Most of these wares are clearly signed on the base.
NORITAKE
In 1891 the McKinley Tariff Act passed by the American Congress declared that all Japanese wares imported into the USA should be clearly marked with the word “Nippon” (the Japanese name for
One of the most important factories that produced what were known as “Nippon” wares was the Noritake Co., established in 1904 in Nagoya by Icizaemon Morimura 1875). The company specialized in the production of porcelain wares, at first copying debased Rococo-style European wares decorated with flowers, fruit, foliage. in
and landscapes i pale pastel tones with gold relief highlights. During the 1920s such well-known designer-, as the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1956) were commissioned to supply designs reflecting the current vogue for Art Deco-style tea, coffee and dinner services. After 1921 the American government decided that the Nippon marls was to be changed to “Japan” or “Made in Japan”.

Arita
• BODY porcelain
• GLAZE usually fairly thin with surface pitting
• TYPES blue-and-white and Imari-style wares
• DECORATION Imari: busy; blue and white
Kaga and SetoBody
• porcelain
• DECORATION Kaga: loosely painted with predominant iron red or grisaille; Seto, mainly delicately, drawn natural themes in clear, bright g
underclaze blue
Satsuma and KyotoBODY
• fine earthenware
• GLAZE Satsuma: warm, creamy, crackled glaze
• PALETTE enamelling in bright colours, gilding
DECORATION landscapes; people carrying out everyday activities; flowers; animals
Marks
Kyoto: seal mark for Yabu Meizan
NoritakeBODY
• at first a grey Seto body; from the each- 1920s a pure white porcelain similar to that made at the French factory of Limoges
• TYPES good quality utilitarian wares of European/ American form intended for export
Marks
Mark used on many Noritake Nippon wares (C.1911-1921); “M” is for Morimura

Nabeshima and Hirado
NABESHIMA
The porcelain of Nabeshima (named after the ruling clan) was made at Okawachi, north of Arita, probably from the latter half of the 17th century until c.1870, exclusively for the ruling shogun and feudal lords. As this ware was the preserve of the aristocracy, little of it except “kiln wasters”, or seconds, would have reached the West before the late 19th century. A few examples have been sold at auction since World War II (including some of questionable date). Apart from a few pieces of hollow-ware – bottles, vases, boxes, and censers –most surviving items are dishes. In that category the majority are saucer dishes with exceptionally tall foot-rims (over 1.2cm high); the remainder are small pieces of various shapes.
Nabeshima ware is arguably the most refined of all pre-19th-century Japanese porcelain. The decoration is imaginative, timeless, and meticulously executed. The most popular themes are seasonal flowers or wintry trees, sometimes combined with underlying or juxtaposed patterns, which may be derived from waves, Chinese trelliswork, or basketry. This type of decoration could only have been
achieved by using a stencil or some kind of transfer-printing technique. For example, the repetitive geometric pattern called “calm-water” (seigaha) shows no evidence whatsoever of individual strokes, with their inevitable variations in intensity. Designs are often entirely outlined in underglaze blue with enamel infilling of iron red, turquoise, yellow, pale manganese, and black detailing, in a technique that recalls the doucai
porcelains dating from the early Ming period in China. The glaze is of a soft, pale, greyish-blue tone.
A feature of the characteristic Nabeshima saucer dishes is the underglaze-blue decoration on the
tall foot, which is found on most
pieces. The decoration consists
of a continuous band of
elongated “teeth” resembling
a comb, known as kusitakade.
The underside of the rim is
usually painted with beribbonec
coins (known as “cash”), clump
of formal flowers, or undulating foliage. Like much Nabeshima ware, saucer dishes tend to be decorated in colours, as this was
more desirable than the standard blue.
HIRADO
Some of the earliest Japanese blue-and-white porcelain was produced at Hirado, near Arita, toward the beginning of the 17th century. Production at the sites of Kihara and Nanko was made possible through the employment of immigrant Korean potters. The later wares, from another site at Mikawachi where production is thought to have begun c.1760, are the most familiar. These wares, either white or blue and white, were made from the very pure clay from the island of Amakusa, allowing the most intricate modelling and refined potting.
Production consisted of censers, brushpots, jars, vases, bottles, teawares, bowls, and dishes. From c.184( some of the larger pieces were applied with dragons or shi-shi (a depiction of the Buddhist lion) as either handles or knops. Other pieces were moulded in shallow relief with isolated flower-heads, symbols, or trellis. Blue-and-white wares were sensitively painted in a slightly blurred underglaze blue of varying tone. The most popular themes are children at play or vertiginous landscapes, but birds and large botanical subjects were also used. Border embellishment is invariably small and includes pointed leaves and pendant tassels.

Nabeshima
• BODY virtually flawless
• POTTING thin and always very neatly executed
• GLAZE subtly grained; a soft, bluish appearance
• PALETTE usually polychrome – underglaze blue, iron red, yellow, turquoise green, pale manganese/tan, and, very rarely, black
• FORMS mainly flatwares; saucer dishes
• DECORATION natural subjects
Hirado
• BODY pure white with an “icing-sugar” texture
• GLAZE a soft, bluish hue
• PALPATE either white or blue and white
Marks
Nabeshima wares arc never marked; Hirado wares are sometimes marked with the place of manufacture, occasionally with the potter’s or decorator’s name, or, most rarely, with a date

Kakiemon
A type of Arita ware, Kakiemon is a delicate porcelain with a distinctive palette. The name is derived from a family of potters and enamellers working in Arita, who are traditionally believed to have introduced overglaze enamelling on porcelain to Japan in the 1640s. The extremely fine, milky-white body (nigoshide) was believed to have been exclusive to the Kakiemon kiln, although this is now disputed. Wares include small dishes, bottles, bowls, and vases, many of which are of geometric form.
DECORATION AND FORMS
Although the Kakiemon kilns produced blue-andwhite porcelain, they are generally associated with wares expertly painted in a palette of iron-red, cerulean-blue, turquoise-green, yellow, aubergine, and gold. These delicate porcelains form a counterpoint to the heavier Imari wares.
Often asymmetrical, the designs enhance
the milky-white body of the best Arita porcelain. Kakiemon wares are usually painted with natural themes: birds in branches, flying squirrels, the “quail and millet” design, the “Three
Friends of Winter” (pine, prunus, and bamboo), trailing flowers, and banded hedges. Human subjects are rare; some have been given titles such as the “Woman and the Nightingale” and the “Hob in the Well”, the latter a design based on the story of a Chinese sage who saved his friend who had fallen into a large fishbowl.
The chrysanthemum, the national flower of Japan, is a very common form for
Kakiemon wares, as is the pointed bracket-shape. Many Arita wares, especially the Kakiemon type, are hexagonal or octagonal in form. An iron-brown dressing (fuchi-beni) was applied to the edges of many Kakiemon porcelains to embellish them and to protect the rims from being chipped; this was probably introduced around the mid-17th century, following the example set by Chinese potters. Kakiemon porcelain was arguably the most influential Japanese porcelain in Europe; after it was exported to Europe at the end of the 17th century, the forms and decoration were copied by many major factories including Meissen, Saint Cloud,Chantilly, Chelsea, and Bow.
• BODY a pure milky-white (nigoshide)
• GLAZE almost colourless
• PALETTE iron red, cerulean blue, turquoise, brown, yellow, and gold; black is used for detailing; iron-
brown edges (fuchi-beni) are typical
• FORMS geometric; dishes are hexagonal, octagonal, or decagonal
• DECORATION mainly flower motifs and only rarely figures; asymmetrical and sparse; popular patterns include the “quail and millet”, the “Three Friends of Winter” (pine, bamboo, and prunus), banded hedges, flying squirrels, and the ho-ho bird (phoenix)
• COPIES made in many European factories from the end of the 18th century, including Meissen, Chantilly, Saint Cloud, Chelsea, and Bow

Imari Porcelain
Imari is a port on the eastern coast of the island of Kyushu. The name has become associated with a certain type of porcelain, but it has two different Interpretations, one used in Japan and the other in the West. The Japanese terms Shoki and Ko Imari describe blue-and-white wares made in Arita. However, what is generally known in the West as “Imari” is export porcelain decorated in a palette that usually includes underglaze blue, iron-red, and gilding.
There are also other categories beyond the conventional colour scheme; for or example, “green family” Imari is dominated by green, with red or other colours being used in a minor role. Kenjo Imari (presentation ware) is
- sub-group,
another -group, which uses a similar palette but with a more formal arrangement of panelled zones of colour.
Initially developed in the second half of the 17th century, the Imari style matured c.1800.
The finest examples of the style feature a complex symphony of overlapping geometric or leaf-shaped panels often decorated with conflicting themes, as seen in the vase and cover below. Unfortunately the variety of these anti-rational patterns makes it difficult to categorize and present a chronology for this group of wares. Much decoration appears to be based on brocade a rich silk textile run through with gold or silver thread. The majority of Imari wares are decorative, with pieces intended for display en masse. In the late-17th and 18th centuries the most common objects made were high-shouldered, dome-covered jars, trumpet-shaped beaker vases, and saucer dishes. Tea and coffee wares were alsc produced, but these are scarce.
WEAR AND TEAR
Arita porcelain, particularly blue-and-white and Imari, is generally extremely robust and not easily cracked, unlike its more fragile Chinese counterpart. However, although Arita ware is strong, its softish, pale, greyish-blue glaze may be more easily scratched than that of Chinese wares. Some of the Arita export porcelains have crackled glazes, and an intended purchase must be carefully examined to make sure that the body itself is not cracked.
• PALLETTE the basic Imari palette comprises underglaze blue, which can be an intense, almost black, colour or a pale grey, iron red, and gold; other colours include yellow, manganese brown, green, and turquoise
• P0TTING Japanese porcelain is thickly potted and has a tendency to warp during firing, kiln supports were therefore used under the bases of even relatively small wares to prevent them from saggingCOPIES
• made in porcelain at Meissen and in tin-glazed earthenware particularly at Delft during the first third of the 18th centuryBEWARE
• some late-17th- and 18th-century Imari porcelain wares are inscribed with spurious Chinese reign marks

Korea’s close proximity to China has resulted in a marked Chinese influence in its ceramic production, ev ident in both the forms and the techniques used by potters. However, Korea has also produced stonewares and porcelains unique to its culture.
THE SILLA AND KORYO PERIODS
During the Silla kingdom (57 BC—AD 935) ceramic production in Korea consisted of grey- or brownish-bodied stonewares of distinctive architectonic form. Tall vessels with hemispherical bowls on an elongated spreading foot were decorated with geometric
windows and incised bands. Bowls were decorated with punched circlets, small repeated motifs, scratched geometric patterns, and, occasionally, animals or humans. Drawing inspiration from the Yue wares of south-eastern China, Korean potters developed celadon wares during the Koryo period (918-1392). Even if some of the forms are noticeably Chinese, there is almost always a distinctive Korean feel to them.
The green glaze is of a subtle tonality akin to the colour of the famous Ru wares of the northern Song Dynasty. However, er, the sangam celadons, which are painstakingly inlaid with black-and-white clays, are unique to Korea. A wide range of objects was made, including large blossom vases, ritual water ewers, and tiny covered boxes. Porcelain was also produced, albeit in very limited quantities, during the Koryo period.
CHOSON DYNASTY (1392-1910)
Developed from the sangam celadons of the Koryo period are the robust and often crude punch’ong wares, a greyish-green celadon-type stoneware made for about the first 200 years of the dynasty. Production ceased at the time of the invasion of Korea by the Japanese leader Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1592-8). The wares are decorated by stamping and washing through with slip. Decoration may feature tiny repeated motifs, flower-heads, or scrolls. Korean wares are generally very heavily potted with a curiously sticky glaze. The greyish-green glaze is thin, translucent, and mostly crackled, and it occasionally flakes. Choson whitewares were made throughout the period; earlier wares were often plain white, although many pieces can be painted in underglaze copper red, iron brown, or blue. Bulbous forms, often with faceted sides, are characteristic of the later Choson period, as are pierced vessels such as brushpots, pipe rests, and waterpots.
Early stoneware
• BODY dull dark grey or brown; potting tends to be very thick, and there is strong tendency for the items to warp
• FORMS “architectural”
• TYPES funerary wares
• DECORATION pierced and incised; often geometric patterns, rarely figures
celadon
• BODY generally a distinctive greyish blue-green like the classic Ru ware of the northern Song Dynasty
• GLAZE of greyish-olive tone; usually irregular; frequently crackled
• IDENTIFICATION celadon wares were fired on gritty kiln supports, often leaving crude patches on the underside of the foot-rim
• DECORATION the miniaturized inlay technique (sangam), using black-and-white clay, is unique to Korea
Porcelain
• BODY heavily potted; sometimes large pieces are warped or cracked; pierced and carved wares of the 18th and 19th centuries are very sophisticated
• GLAZE bluish or greenish irregularly crackled glaze
• DECORATION most common is the dragon; also cranes, tigers, and other animals
Marks
Most ceramics are unmarked before the late 19th century

Qing after 1800
During the Qianlong reign period (1736-95) the directorship of the imperial kilns passed from imperial officials to regional supervisors, and from that time there followed a slow decline in the quality of wares from Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province. While some fine pieces continued to be made, there was a general tendency to over-elaborate in both form and decoration.
BODY AND GLAZE
The changes in the quality of the material were gradual and, when wares are unmarked, it can be very difficult to distinguish between one reign period and another. The dragon and phoenix wucai bowls, which were first made during the Kangxi reign period (1622-1722), continued to be made right into the 19th century and are a good example of the problem; their smooth bluish-white glaze and neatly drawn enamelling are virtually the same whether they are from the Qianlong or the Jigging reign periods (1736-1820). Without reference to the seal marks, most specialists would be hard put to tell the difference.
There was, however, a perceptible decline in quality during the Daoguang reign period (1821-50), and the inferior quality persisted to the end of the dynasty. The cool and lustrous glaze gave way to a grainy off-white, while the enamels were duller or harsher than their
brilliant predecessors. The decoration of enamelled porcelains was arranged in a crowded or ineffective manner, with over-complicated colour combinations.
STYLES, SHAPES, AND DECORATIVE THEMES The porcelains that had been produced in the 18th century continued to be made in the 19th. They included Ming-style blue-and-white wares such as moon flasks and pear-shaped bottles, as well as large saucer dishes. Likewise, monochromes continued to be produced, notably sang-de-boeuf red, “peachbloom”, and yellow. There were also artistic innovations, among them the production of “medallion” bowls.
• GLAZE marked deterioration in quality from the Daoguang period; “European-green” turquoise wash appears on the inside of many vessels
• DECORATION tendency to over-elaborate, complicated colour schemes and overcrowding; greater use of gilding; introduction of “medallion” bowls and “rice-grain” pierced wares; use of show and other auspicious characters; heavy use of enamels
Reign marks
Reign marks were inscribed on most 19th-and 20th-century domestic, imperial, and export porcelain; the mark shown here is in conventional script for the Guangxu reign period (1875-1908)

Qing before 1800
Following the overthrow of the Ming Dynasty by the Qing Dynasty in 1644, production at Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province was severely disrupted until 1677, when one of the classic eras of porcelain production began. This lasted until c.1750.
BLUE-AND-WHITE WARES
Blue and white dominated the export market during this period, but these wares were not prominent among the ceramics made at the imperial kilns at Jingdezhen. Before 1800 Qing imperial blue-and-white wares tended to imitate early Ming versions, particularly from the Yongle (1403-24) and Xuande (1426-35) reign periods, with decoration that was carefully spaced. The designs on these pieces are generally formal, measured arrangements showing stylized lotus flowers among scrolling foliage. The blue was applied in imitation of the “heaped and piled” effect that connoisseurs so admired in the early Ming wares. Often the reign mark used on those wares was used again in deference to the earlier period.
ENAMELLED WARES
Enamelled porcelains came into their own during the Qing period, replacing blue-and-white wares as the focus of technical and artistic innovation. The technical advances signalled by the development of famille-verte and famille-rose wares greatly enhanced the decorative possibilities of the medium, while the body had now become so refined and delicate as to be the perfect foil for artistic virtuosity. Increasingly, the white porcelain was not so much decorated as painted in the manner of silk-scroll painting.
The famille-verte palette was first introduced during the late 17th century as a development of the wucai palette. In early famille verte the blue is applied under the glaze in the Ming wucai style, but distinguished from it by a generally brighter palette. In the mature famille verte, which dates from the last years of the 17th century, the blue was applied over the glaze and is transparent. Gold was sometimes applied to famille verte wares of the early 18th century. The designs on these wares tended to be detailed representations of nature, including dramatic rocky landscapes and flowers, or precious objects such as classic vases and items for the scholar’s desk.
The famille-rose palette was created c.1720, at the end of the Kangxi reign period. The palette is named after one of the constituent colours – opaque pink enamel, which was achieved using gold. The palette also includes Lin opaque white and yellow that made blending and shading of colours possible in a way that could not be achieved with the transparent colours of the familleverte palette. This gave rise to the exquisitely refined decoration seen on porcelain of the Yongzheng period, with ink-and-wash-style landscapes or
naturalistic depictions of flowers and fruit
rendered in a painterly style against superbly
clear white backgrounds. Among the most
refined Yongzheng and Qianlong wares are
famille-rose wares known as guyuexuan, which were painted in the imperial workshops. Some of these bear poetic lines or calligraphic designs, and they were copied widely in the 20th century.
MONOCHROMES
In this period monochromes were the ceremonial wares used by the emperor and had to be of the very finest quality. In the early 18th century copper-red glazes, which had been so highly prized in the early Ming period, were reintroduced. However, as a result of a longer firing time, these new colours are not as resonant and fresh as their earlier Counterparts, and they can be distinguished from the originals by the extra laver of clear glaze over the copper red. Copper oxide was also used to make the so-called “peachbloom” glaze, which was introduced at this time and applied to a limited range of small wares intended for the scholar’s table, including water droppers and brush rests. This glaze is characterized by the combination of a pinkish red and a cloudy greenish bloom, creating a colour reminiscent of the blush on a ripening peach.
REIGN MARKS
The practice of marking imperial wares with the name of a reign period was introduced during the early 15th century, and continued to the end of the Qing period. Either four or six (or, in very rare cases, eight) characters were inscribed in underglaze blue, and often enclosed within a double circle. In the Yongzheng period, seal-script reign marks became common, and during the succeeding Qianlong period they were the norm. Conventional script became popular again at the end of the 19th century. Reign marks should not be taken at face value when dating a piece, since it was common practice to inscribe wares with the mark of art earlier reign period, particularly those of the much-esteemed Nling period and especially of Emperor Chenghua (1465-87). This was not so much a question of fraud as of admiration for and imitation of antiquity.
The experimentation with monochrome glazes resulted in many innovative effects, such as the speckled turquoise and dark-bloc “robin’s-egg” glaze, which is thought to have been inspired by the Jun wares of the Song period. The “teadust” glaze is created when iron oxide is underfired, resulting in a mottled green on a yellowish-brown background. The “iron-rust” glaze is
a streaked reddish-brown with a metallic sheen, achieved by cooling the ware very rapidly after firing. The pale-little Clair-de-lone glaze was created by incorporating a very small amount of cobalt blue and was applied only to the most delicate wares.
“ARCHAIC” WARES
The Qing emperors, especially Qianlong, were avid collectors of antiquities, and many Qing imperial ceramics closely imitate ancient models. This is particularly evident in the traditional forms that were favoured, which include pastiches of early bronzes and jades and also of classic ceramics of the Song and Ming Dynasties; some wares were made using a combination of the two forms. The Qing potters also tried to re-create the glazes applied to the archaistic pieces of the Song period; these included thick, crackled glazes used on Guan wares. The Qing copies are generally smoother and shinier than the originals.
Qing reign periods Shunzhi ( 1644-6 1 ) Kangxi(1662-1722) Yongzheng (1723-35) Qianlong ( 1736-95) Jiaqing (1796-1820)
Daoguang ( 182 1 —50) Xianfeng (1851-61)
Tongzbi ( 1862-74)
Guangxu (1875-1908) Xuantong (1909-11 )
• BODY very fine white porcelain
• POTTING extremely neat with smooth, rounded foot-rims, the bases of bowls and dishes arc flat, unlike the slightly convex form of the bases of Ming wares; there are no visible joins on vases and pots
• GLAZES a wide range of innovative glazes appears on monochromes; imitations of crackled Song-period Guan glazes are found on “archaic” pieces
• ENAMELS many colours enhanced with opaque white and yellow in the famille-rose palette, permitting shading and more decorative potential
• FORMS small, fine pieces for delicate porcelains as well as imitations of archaic bronze and jade forms
• Di CORATION blossoming and fruiting branches
rendered in a painterly manner; emblems of good luck, such as the characters sbou (long life) and fu (bat), are often integrated into the designs
Reign marks
Reign marks for Shunzhi and Kangxi are always written in conventional script; for the period of Yongzheng they may be written in the same manner or in seal script; Qianlong, Jiaqing and Daoguang are usually done in seal characters; from the Xianfeug reign onward, marks may be written in either style

Later export porcelain
The loss of imperial patronage at Jingdezhen in Jiangxi Province in 1608 prior to the death of Emperor Wanli (d.1619) encouraged the Chinese potters to seek new markets for their wares. They made dishes to European specifications, introducing new shapes and decorative motifs. They also had an unrivalled artistic freedom, which unleashed a great creativity, while the technical quality of the body and glaze improved noticeably.
TRANSITIONAL WARES
Blue-and-white porcelains of the Transitional period (1620-83) are characterized by the purplish tone of the blue, and by the easy naturalism of the brushwork. Narrative scenes were common, while landscape painting was given unprecedented importance. Colophons were very rarely added, but when they are found they often give details of where the object was produced, which clearly aids the dating of such items. Enamelled Transitional wares are the forerunners of the group of wares known as fanzine verte, and the colours are noticeably bright and clean. The Transitional period also marks the appearance of the first truly European shapes, including table salts, mustard-pots, square flasks, and candlesticks.
EXPORT PORCELAINS FROM JINGDEZHEN
The porcelains produced at Jingdezhen after Emperor Kangxi reorganized the kilns in 1683 are markedly more refined than earlier wares. The potting is economical and neatly trimmed, while the glaze is very thin and glassy. The foot-rims often have a faint amber blush due to oxidization. The blue varies from a silvery hue to an almost purple tone. After c.1730 export wares began to decline considerably; this is evident in the poorly trim med foot-rims and in the presence of sugary kiln grit, as well as in deeper oxidization, and an irregular and bluish glaze.
The range of decorative themes is varied and includes flowers and plants growing among rocks, sometimes enclosed within a fence, especially from the Yongzheng period (1723-35). The landscape designs used during the Kangxi period (1662-1722) have a sense of craggy remoteness, which later gives way to a more comfortable, idealized structure, with pavilioned isles, drifting sampans, and bending trees.
In the early 18th century northern-European clients
began to order dinner services decorated with their own
coats of arms, although the Spanish and Portuguese had ordered individual pieces with arms more than a century earlier. These armorial services were executed in underglaze blue or in the famine-verte palette (green, iron-red, blue, yellow, and a manganese purple). However, the later famillerose armorial services, often embellished with gold, are more numerous; hundreds of thousands of pieces were dispatched each year as wealthy British families ordered vast dinner services.
Europeans commissioned a variety of designs to be copied, sending paper patterns and wooden models to the Chinese. Early during the reign of Qianlong (1736-95), plain, blank porcelains from Jingdezhen were probably sent to be decorated in Guangzhou (later Canton) in Guangdong Province; blue-and-white ware was already fully decorated, as the decoration was underglaze. Their close proximity to the decorators’ workshops enabled East India Company employees to complete their private trade orders quickly and effectively. By comparison with general-trade porcelains, these private orders form a much more interesting and collectable group. In addition to the armorial wares, which are by and large formulaic, there are pieces with designs meticulously copied from European engravings.
By the second quarter of the 19th century tailor-made wares were the exception, and production concentrated on heavily enamelled decorative wares and dinner services. Pink, green, and gold with touches of yellow and turquoise were the usual palette of these later porcelains, decorated in Canton and known as “Canton” wares. The material and glaze are generally of secondary quality, with deposits of sugary kiln grit.
SHIPWRECK CARGOES
Among the many ships carrying tea, porcelain, spices, and silk from China to India and Europe, a number inevitably sank before they completed their journeys. In recent years some of these shipwrecks have been salvaged and their precious cargoes auctioned. They include the Dutch ship Geldermalsen, carrying the so-called Nanking cargo, which sank in 1752 with 25,000 pieces of porcelain intended for sale in Amsterdam and was found in 1986. The Diana, which sank in 1817 in the Strait of Malacca en route to Madras, was salvaged in 1994; just under 24,000 pieces of intact blue-and-white porcelain were recovered from the ship, indicating the popularity of this type of export ware.
SWATOW WARES
Named after the port of Shantou (Swatow), Swatow wares are roughly decorated porcelains made around Chaozhou in Guangdong Province from the mid-16th century for export principally to India, South-East Asia, and Japan. Although wares include blue-and-white and slip-painted pieces, it is the polychromes that are best known. The decoration is executed with great flourish in overglaze red, green, and turquoise, with a sparing use Of black. Forms include plates and dishes, and kendi ritual vessels), while characteristic motifs include the ..split pagoda”. Often red character seals are alternated with cartouches around the edges of these wares.
DEHUA PORCELAIN
White porcelain from Dehua in Fujian Province was produced from the Song period. Ming wares from Dehua have a warm ivory tone, while the Qing wares are usually more bluish, or dead white. The most typical forms of Dehua porcelain (known in Europe as blanc-de-Chine) are hollow figures of Buddhist deities – most notably of Guanyin, goddess of mercy – although in the Ming period figures of the Madonna and Child were also produced for the Portuguese. Small cups decorated with reliefs of blossoming prunus were also exported. Dehua wares are usually signed with a small seal impressed into the back of the sculpture.
YIXING WARES
Yixing wares are red stonewares, made in Jiangsu Province, which were exported to Europe from the mid-17th century until the end of the 18th century. The most commonly exported wares were small teapots and cups, either left plain or decorated with ,garden scenes in relief, or with sprigged decoration such as prunus branches. In the 1670s potters in Delft began to produce a low-fired redware in imitation of Yixing, and from the late 17th century potters in Staffordshire produced a similar ware. A number of small Yixing figures were exported to Europe.
Transitional wares
• BODY greyish-white porcelain
• BLUE rich and purplish, applied in washes
• DECORATION taken from printed sources: narrative scenes and flower studies applied as outlines filled in with a wash, a technique known as “line and wash”
• THEMES narrative scenes taken from literary classics
Kangxi blue-and-white porcelain
• POTTING generally very economical and neatly trimmed around the base
• GLAZE very thin and glassy
• FOOT-RIMS faint amber blush due to oxidization
• BLUE varies from a silvery to an almost purple tone
• THEMES flowers and plants growing among rocks; landscapes
Jingdezhen enamelled export porcelain
• SHAPES many European shapes drawn from silverware or European pottery and porcelain prototypes
• DECORATION translucent overglaze enamels with dominant green in densely meshed patterns; gilding
Dehua wares
• BODY white porcelain
• GLAZE warm ivory (Ming); bluish white (Qing)
• SHAPES tall, hollow sculptures of Buddhist deities, figures of the Madonna and Child, and small cups
• DECORATION reliefs of plum blossoms on cups
• MARKS seal signature on the back of sculptures
Yixing wares
• BODY red stoneware
• GLAZE some figures are covered with a pale-grey glaze
• SHAPES small teapots and cups
• DECORATION relief or sprigged decorations
• COPIES made in Europe in the late 17th century by the Elers brothers in Staffordshire and Arij Milde in Delft