Antique Chinese porcelain during the dynasties

Antique Chinese porcelain during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties

Late Ming Dynasty VaseAntique Chinese porcelain is art forms that have developed since the periods of dynasties. The first forms of porcelains were made about ten to eleven thousand years ago. Porcelain in the south china is made from molten rock that has quartz and mica content while in the northern china the use clay that has alumina and less mica. These Chinese porcelain range from construction materials for example bricks and tiles to hand built pottery vessels that are strengthened by strong fire in the kiln and bonfire. The antique Chinese porcelain that was made to look sophisticated was for the imperial courts. There are two types of Chinese porcelain which are classified according to the amount of temperature used to heat. The low fired porcelain are commonly known as tao. they are fired in temperatures between 950 and 1200.those that are heated in high temperatures are referred us ci and they are mostly heated at the temperatures of 1250 to 1200.in the earlier century they were molded using the hands but with the introduction of potter’s wheel in the Neolithic period the wheel was used in the modeling process to increase the uniformity of the vessels. Over time the vessels were improved by giving them new touch due to the improvement of technology. Examples of the vessels are the three colored ware and the qingci that gained favor in the court. The three colored ware was produced by the tang dynasty. It had the colors bright yellow, green and white hence the name. They not only resembled the bowels but also the camels. The qingci ware bluish-green and were characterized by there simple and elegant shapes. These porcelains were very popular in all dynasties and could be exported to other regions like southern Asia and Egypt.

Antique Chinese Porcelain in the Yuan Dynasty

Rare Antiques - Chinese Yuan dynasty vaseThe Yuan dynasty that was in existence between 1279 and 1368 baked the blue and white porcelain. During this period cizhou, Jun and longquan wares were highly supplied in the local market. The lingdezhen factory was still used in the production of wares. During this period there was the establishment of official fuliang porcelain bureau. The establishment happened in 1278AD. the main function of this bureau was to supervise and manage the production of porcelain in Jingdezhen for official use. The porcelain was baked in the high temperatures. These type of vessels were characterized by there purity of their kaolin clay bodies. The blue and white ware replaced the cizhou iron brown decoration. The dynasties the proceeded this one perfected the se blue and white wares that they came to represent the virtuosity of the Chinese potter. The dynasty the perfected mostly these type of porcelain was the Ming dynasty that produced the blue and white wares that were so superior to any other period. The Yuan court came up with policies to encourage the export of the porcelain to the oversea. The longquan celadon was most popular export as it could be seen in large quantity in the oversea. Also the numbers of kilns that were used for its production were many.Shufu wares were also exported. The jun wares were also popular export. The jun wares consisted of plates, bowels and a small number of jars, censers and vases.cizhou wares were mostly produced for domestic purposes. The main decoration for this ware was under glaze iron-painted black or brown painted motif.

Qing dynasty Development of Antique Chinese Porcelain

Antique Chinese Porcelain Vase Qing dynastyThe time of Qing dynasty that was in existence between 1644 to 1911 the porcelain were highly enriched by the innovation of the five colored wares. The production of this ware was being done at the jindezhen factory that was rebuilt by King Kangxi. The antique Chinese porcelain wares that were mostly produced were the bowls, dishes, incense burner and small vases with under glaze blue, over glaze enameled decorations. The wucai technique was used to decorate the wares. The improvement of these wares was seen during his reign.the potters could be seen using bright colors in plates and vases .the potters usually applied a variety of under-gaze pigments to schemes of flowers that were decorated. They also applied the colors to the landscapes  and figurative scenes .these forms of wares have gained a lot of popularity in the western countries. In majority of the museums found in the European countries you will find these wares that were popular during this period. The colors that were mostly used for decoration were blue, pink, red and yellow.the production of this porcelain declined towards the end of this dynasty due to political instability which affected the art.

The antique Chinese porcelain factory during the Ming dynasty that existed between 1368 and 1644 was located in Jingdezhen. The antique Chinese porcelain that was made to be used in the court was exquisitely and they were marked reign mark of the emperor himself. In addition to the monochrome wares and the blue and white porcelain the factory produced it also produced jihong, jiaohuang, wucia and doucai. These types of wares came to be produced due to the innovations in the period. These porcelains also held significantly the history of development of Ming dynasty porcelain. The dynasty also used to exports the wares to the outside world in huge amounts. During the reign of wanli the potters introduced kaolin which gave more whiteness to the vessels. This property was most sorts by the buyers of the vessels. This material also strengthened the vessel. In the production process the kaolin was mixed in equal proportion for effective result.

Antique Chinese porcelain has been admired by many people in the world. Many communities have been seen trying to copy these process when making the vessels. Many regions in the world have accepted this art and this could be seen from the large mount of these wares that the Chinese government in exporting.

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