After the perfection in material, robustness and geometry under the Song, the Chinese porcelain got a new artistic development with the Yuan. The blue and white porcelain was also known for a long time but the new Mongol dominance facilitated the import of cobalt from western Mongolia.
The Jingdezhen kilns were already operational under the Tang and Song but their activity is much developed by the Yuan. Responding to the taste of the Middle East, Jingdezhen potters are making complex shaped wares moulded with hollows and bumps for enhancing the decorative pattern. A technical influence from Persian silverware is likely.
The blue and white applied in spares or brush multiplies the figurative themes in the tradition of Chinese graphic art, of course, but also with pleasant vegetal themes that also support the export of Chinese porcelain to the Middle East. At that time the Chinese ceramics, especially those from Jingdezhen, are the only ones that are hygienic enough to bring no health risk to the user.
On October 5 in Hong Kong, Sotheby's sells a Yuan charger, lot 3636 estimated HK $ 25M. This massive piece successfully accumulates the technical difficulties with its mouldings, its bracket lobed rim and its very large size, 48 cm in diameter.
The decoration uses reserves to reveal the white by washing the blue background. Such pieces waste too much cobalt and in addition they were designed per unit. This technique was soon superseded by a blue on white without moulding, cheaper and suitable for a production in series.
SOLD for HK$ 30M including premium
The Jingdezhen kilns were already operational under the Tang and Song but their activity is much developed by the Yuan. Responding to the taste of the Middle East, Jingdezhen potters are making complex shaped wares moulded with hollows and bumps for enhancing the decorative pattern. A technical influence from Persian silverware is likely.
The blue and white applied in spares or brush multiplies the figurative themes in the tradition of Chinese graphic art, of course, but also with pleasant vegetal themes that also support the export of Chinese porcelain to the Middle East. At that time the Chinese ceramics, especially those from Jingdezhen, are the only ones that are hygienic enough to bring no health risk to the user.
On October 5 in Hong Kong, Sotheby's sells a Yuan charger, lot 3636 estimated HK $ 25M. This massive piece successfully accumulates the technical difficulties with its mouldings, its bracket lobed rim and its very large size, 48 cm in diameter.
The decoration uses reserves to reveal the white by washing the blue background. Such pieces waste too much cobalt and in addition they were designed per unit. This technique was soon superseded by a blue on white without moulding, cheaper and suitable for a production in series.
SOLD for HK$ 30M including premium
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