Chinese Porcelain
Characteristics, History, Types of Fine
White China.
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Chinese Porcelain
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Chinese Porcelain (c.100-1800)
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In ceramic art, the term "Porcelain" (derived from the Italian word "porcellana", meaning a type of translucent shell) describes any ceramic ware that is white and translucent, no matter what ingredients it contains or what it is made for. It is however fired at a higher temperature than regular earthenware. In Chinese pottery, the porcelain clay body is typically heated in a kiln to between 1,200 and 1,400 degrees Celsius. These temperatures cause the formation of glass, and other chemical compounds, which in turn gives the porcelain its toughness, strength, and translucence. What are the ingredients of Chinese Porcelain? Chinese porcelain - one of the best examples of traditional Chinese art - is typically made from the clay mineral kaolinite, combined with pottery stone known as petunse, feldspar and quartz. Other ingredients may include ball clay, bone ash, glass, steatite and alabaster. The clays used in porcelain manufacture are usually lower in plasticity and shorter than other pottery clays. In China, the composition and characteristics of northern porcelain differ markedly from that made in the south of the country. Yes, but unlike other lower-fired pottery, porcelain wares do not require glazing to make them impermeable. So glazes are applied merely for decorative purposes, or to prevent staining. As it happened, several different types of glaze - including the iron-rich glaze used on the celadon pottery of Longquan - were conceived specifically for their decorative effects on porcelain. How is Chinese Porcelain decorated? Porcelain is typically decorated under the glaze with colour pigments like cobalt and copper, or painted above the glaze with coloured enamels. Today, Chinese porcelain may be biscuit-fired at about 1,000 degrees Celsius, painted with glaze and then returned to the kiln for a second firing at about 1,300 degrees Celsius. When was Chinese Porcelain first made? Due to confusion over what exactly constitutes porcelain, archeologists and art historians disagree about when the first Chinese variety was produced. Some contend that the first true porcelain was made in the province of Zhejiang during the period of late Han Dynasty art (100-200 CE). For example, fragments unearthed at Eastern Han kiln sites revealed firing temperatures ranging from 1260 to 1300 degrees Celsius, entirely consistent with porcelain manufacture. This means that Chinese ceramicists invented porcelain about 1,700 years before their counterparts in Europe! Meanwhile, other experts say it first appeared as one of the arts of the Six Dynasties (220-618 CE), or during the era of Tang Dynasty art (618-906).
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Why is Chinese Porcelain so famous? Two reasons: first, the Chinese invented porcelain - which is why it is often called "china" or "fine china" in English-speaking countries; second, the quality of Chinese porcelain has always surpassed European wares. An Arab merchant, for instance, on a visit to China in 851 during the Tang Dynasty, stated that he had seen "vases as transparent as glass" made out of a fine clay. Despite the early growth of trade routes westwards to central Asia, it wasn't until the Tang Dynasty (618-906) that China began exporting its porcelain on a regular basis. The first major customer was Arabia and the Islamic world. Tang ceramicists managed to combine the qualities of southern Chinese celadon and northern white porcelain with the high-quality soil of the region near the town of Jingdezhen town, in northeastern Jiangxi province, so as to produce a type of white-green porcelain, known as artificial jade. Highly prized both in China and elsewhere, it was later exported to Arabia and Europe in large quantities. In fact, the earliest known item of Chinese porcelain to arrive in Europe, was the Fonthill Vase (1300-40), which was exported in 1338 during the period of Yuan Dynasty art (1271-1368). Made in Jingdezhen as a gift for Louis the Great of Hungary, and named after William Beckford's Fonthill Abbey, the Fonthill Vase is a bluish-white Qingbai vase, probably made about 1320-38. By the era of Ming Dynasty art (1368–1644), porcelain wares were being exported to Europe on a regular basis, including some of the most celebrated Chinese styles, such as the prestigious blue-and-white Ming ware (known as kraak porcelain). Strangely, despite the enormous attention given to these Chinese imports, and the high value placed on them, all attempts to replicate them failed, despite some creditable efforts, such as faience (tin glazed earthenware), as well as the soft-paste Italian "porcelain" made by the Medici family in Florence, during the era of Late Renaissance art. When did Europe finally succeed in producing Porcelain? Not until the 18th century. Progress occurred during the early 16th century, when Portuguese traders brought back samples of kaolin clay from China, which they correctly understood to be an essential ingredient in porcelain production. Alas, despite countless experiments with kaolin, success remained elusive. Then, in 1708, the German Meissen scientist Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus (1651-1708) succeeded in producing a hard, white, translucent type of porcelain - a breakthrough previously attributed to Johann Friedrich Bottger (1682-1719). Shortly afterwards, the secret Chinese methods of producing porcelain were released and published throughout Europe by the French Jesuit father Francois Xavier d'Entrecolles (1664-1741), who had learned about them in China, during the rule of the Kangxi Emperor (1661–1722), one of the key figures in Qing Dynasty art (1644-1911).
When did America begin to import Chinese Porcelain? During the 19th century. As porcelain factories sprang up across Europe during the eighteenth century, the demand for Chinese porcelain rapidly declined, forcing Chinese exporters to take advantage of the emerging American market. Chinese porcelains exported to America featured a variety of American themes and motifs, including the American eagle and George Washington. By the late nineteenth century, Chinese porcelain, particularly the blue-and-white variety, had become almost an art form, with items in great demand by American connoisseurs and art collectors during the last decades of the century. What are the main types of Chinese Porcelain? The best-known Chinese porcelains include the following: Sancai Jian Tea Wares Ding Ware Jun Ware Qingbai Wares Blue and White Porcelain Blanc de Chine Porcelains Why is Ming Porcelain so famous? Because the Ming Dynasty witnessed some of the most important manufacturing innovations. These are traditionally divided according to the following periods: the Yongle (1402–24), Xuande (1425–35), Chenghua (1464–87), Zhengde (1505–21), Jiajing (1521–67) and Wanli period (1572–1620). • Under the Ming Emperors, the production, decoration, glazing and painting of porcelain was constantly being refined. (See also: Chinese Painting.) New designs and shapes for clay bodies were explored, some based on motifs and plastic forms belonging to Islamic art, notably Islamic metalwork. In addition, blue-and-white ware and cloisonné enamelware were developed in part due to close contacts between China and Arabia, while other developments derived from the art of Ancient Persia. • During the reign of the Xuande Emperor (1425–35), for instance, technical improvements were introduced in the use of cobalt for underglaze blue decoration. Until this point, the cobalt had been brilliant blue, but with a distressing tendency to bleed when fired in the kiln. Chinese painters therefore added manganese, which made the colour slightly muted, but gave a much sharper line - one reason why Xuande porcelain now ranks among the finest Ming pottery ever produced. • During the reign of the Chenghua Emperor (1464–87), similar advances were made in enamelling. In fact by the Wanli period, the prices for Chenghua and Xuande era porcelain were on a par with antique Song-era porcelain. • It was during the 16th century manufacture of porcelain, that kaolin began to be mixed with pottery stone in about equal proportions. Kaolin provided great strength when added to the paste; it also heightened the whiteness of the body - a trait that became especially prized asform blue-and-white wares grew in popularity. • In addition, as we have seen, Ming porcelain was exported around the world on an unprecedented scale. By the reign of the Wanli Emperor (1572–1620), certain imperial kilns - notably those at Jingdezhen - had become a dedicated centre of production for large-scale porcelain exports to Europe. This made Ming ware famous throughout the world - a status it retains to this day. For other Asian arts, see: Japanese Art, and India: Painting & Sculpture. |
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• For a guide to Greek ceramic ware,
see: Greek Pottery (c.7,000
BCE onwards).
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