| The Chinese considered painting to be the only fine art. The artist looked to the past for inspiration. Recreating past masterpieces was regarded as a worthwhile and honourable endeavour - unlike in the West, where it is regarded as forgery!
Since the Sung Dynasty ((980 to 1279) landscape painting has been predominant. |
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Jade, and particularly Chinese jade, can be a very difficult item to purchase wisely, unless you are an expert or deal through a reputable dealer. The confusion starts because there are actually two minerals (nephrite and jadeite) which we, in the West, call jade. These range in colour from white through brown to green, and even black.
To add to the confusion, the Chinese word for jade actually refers to any stone worthy of carving - not necessarily either neophyte or jadeite. True jade is a very hard stone. Only diamonds, rubies and quartz will scratch it. In ancient times, craftsmen could spend a lifetime carving just one piece. |
After the disruption of the Manchu invasion, Jingdezhen was re-established as the porcelain centre and re-organised on a production-line basis. Manufacture and decoration were separated into a number of specialist operations. Even the decoration of a single pot was split up with one man painting flowers, another trees, and so on. To achieve this, a tighter, more precise style was necessary with more attention to detail and the loss of much of the spontaneity and sensitivity of the Ming period.
| During the Kangxi reign (1662-1722), a new type of porcelain decoration was invented. Glazed porcelain was painted in enamel and then fired again. Soft colours were used with red predominating. During the nineteenth century, this became known as "famille rose".
Cloisonne enamel decoration was also introduced in the Kangxi reign. The technique was copied from Europe and, in some cases, European artists were brought to China to do the painting. The artists painted their designs on carefully selected white porcelain. The designs were then overlayed with metal wire (cloisonne) and the spaces between the wires were filled with coloured enamel. The craft is so difficult that cloisonne was reserved exclusively for imperial use. |
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| During the Ming Dynasty, the royal family directly controlled the government pottery kilns. As a result these had the best materials and the best craftsmen. Jingdezhen became the national porcelain centre.
The general characteristics of Ming porcelain are a fine-grained body, white colour tinted beige on the unglazed footring. Glazes are usually fairly thick and somewhat hazy with bubbles. They are often slightly uneven and have a bluish tinge. "Pinholes" in the glaze surface are common. Most Ming wares lack the precise finish of later periods. |
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Although carvings in marble, bone and jade exist, the great art of the Shang dynasty (1523 to 1028 B.C.) was that of ritual bronze vessels. These were intended to hold wine, water, grain and meat to be used in sacrificial rites. |
| The vessels were decorated with stylised representations of animals, governed by rigid conventions. A common motif is an animal divided in half lengthwise with the two halves spread out on the vessel symmetrically. The two head parts meet in the centre, often to create a frontal animal mask.
The Chou, who overthrew the Shang, were a relatively primitive people. Their bronze ritual vessels were explosive and vital. Gradually, the vitality diminished. The animal forms became twisted and lost in patterns. |
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Bronze Age (1500-476 BC) |
Chinese Bronze Age pottery was mainly grey but small quantities of white pottery were produced. This "proto-porcelain" seems to have been produced almost by chance. Kaolin (the main constituent of porcelain) was relatively common and the temperature required to smelt bronze (1100 degrees C) happens to be close to the firing temperature for porcelain (1250 degrees C). Very few of these white pottery items have been found and most of these were in the tombs of kings.
Warring States Period (475-221 BC) |
Types of pottery were produced during the Warring States Period included grey, red brown and black. The brown pottery was painted with coloured patterns. The black pottery was produced by smoking the pot when it was partly dry so that particles of charcoal adhered to the paste. After firing these pots were polished to a high lustre.
