Chinese Porcelain Research Articles

Chinese Porcelain and the Material Taxonomies of Medieval Rabbinic Law: Encounters with Disruptive Substances in Twelfth-Century Yemen

Chinese Porcelain and the Material Taxonomies of Medieval Rabbinic Law: Encounters with Disruptive Substances in Twelfth-Century Yemen

Tracing the origin of Chinese Porcelain in Europe

This article discusses different circumstances in which exporting of Chinese porcelain to European countries was launched. The primary aim is to review the most important exporting networks with respect to the process of establishment and development of China-Europe relations. This article also touches upon the establishment of early Sino-Russian relations. We argue that first Chinese porcelain products brought to Europe to become a new phenomenon in European art eventually brought a new change to Chinese art. Chinese masters started to develop whole new porcelain shapes in order to meet the needs and tastes of European customers.

History, Analysis and Attribution of Japanese Arita Porcelain (with Reference to the Irkutsk Regional Art Museum Collection)

With reference to the collection of the Irkutsk Regional Museum, the article outlines the history of Arita porcelain, one of the leading ceramic centers in Japan. The author enumerates the founders of the technique, also illustrating sustained progress in ceramic production, which became a competitor of Chinese porcelain in Europe. The author discusses how Japanese potters succeeded in producing valuable porcelain products which were bought, in addition to Dutch merchants, by Chinese traders. Special attention is paid to the Meiji period, a time of transition that saw the formation of modern Japanese culture. During this period there was a modernization of traditional modes of production, but the identity of national culture was kept intact, which was reflected in the porcelain decoration designs. The author characterizes artistic styles of decoration (Kakiemon, Iro-Nabeshima, and Nisikide Imari) that received worldwide fame. Masters that created them became a national treasure of the Japanese people as they both preserved the generations-long techniques and demonstrated a profound knowledge of production cycles of individual ceramic enterprises. The article analyses porcelain from the museum collection as a source that altered the Europeans’ view upon arts and crafts of Japan that had been perceived as underdeveloped previously. The article contains data on the brands and authors’ inscriptions on the porcelain ware of the period.

Vernacular uses and cultural identity of heritage: trade of antique fragments in the Chinese porcelain capital

This paper documents local uses of artefacts in the vernacular style of Jingdezhen, China as a means for reclaiming local heritage. This is done by examining the use of ancient ceramic fragments by artisans, scholars, shopkeepers and vendors in building location-based cultural identity. Based on ethnographic materials collected from 2012 to 2015, it argues that the vernacular uses of heritage artefacts facilitate the construction of identities for local communities. This is held in contrast to the homogenised identity normally presented by government narratives. Moreover, the paper discusses how the use of vernacular traditions or heritage artefacts function to interweave intricate webs of cultural identities that can be understood in a professional, social or political context.

Linnaeus’ tea cup

In 18th-century Sweden, Chinese porcelain, and in particular armorial services, became one of the most desirable material markers of the social status of the elite and was consciously used to promote dynastic or personal power and aspirations. This article discusses social, affective and gendered relations that developed around acquisition, ordering and display of armorial porcelain and the resulting nexus between porcelain traded by the Swedish East India Company and processes of cultural and gendered identity-making of the male Swedish elite. This paper alludes to 18th-century male anxieties about the gender order in relation to Chinese objects (such as porcelain) and also Chinese subjects (such as the visiting Chinese merchant Afock).

The provenance of export porcelain from the Nan'ao One shipwreck in the South China Sea

Abstract

Chinese Porcelain as a Symbol of Power on the East African Coast from the 14th Century Onward

The aim of this paper is to illustrate the role of Chinese ceramics in Swahili society, with particular emphasis on their funerary uses. Although the importance of Chinese ceramics, especially porcelain, is attested throughout the Indian Ocean, scholars have only recently pointed out their role not only as chronological markers, but also as useful tools to better understand the politics and social customs of certain areas, such as the East African Coast. Imported vessels are involved in several ritual activities which have been performed in Swahili houses since ancient times. Ceramics act as protective tools in the innermost and main section of the house, exclusively reserved for women. According to local customs, Chinese ceramics are believed to be able to ward off negative influences. Furthermore, ceramics became part of the constitution of authority and power, not just a reflection of them. In particular, their importance is evident from their use in religious monuments such as mosques and tombs, where they are used as architectural decorative elements in order to display the wealth of the deceased and as symbols of legitimacy bestowed from ancestors to their heirs. Chinese porcelain in funerary contexts thus became a necessary instrument whereby the Swahili elite asserted their prominence during the continuous negotiation of power between them and other social classes.

Patterns of Artistic Hybridization in the Early Protoglobalization Period

This article proposes a theory of the main patterns of artistic hybridization developed during the early protoglobalization period (the late fifteenth to the early seventeenth century). Many of the new intercontinental encounters of this period originated “hybrid” works of art—that is, objects that possess elements from two or more distinct artistic cultures, combined in an original manner. In assessing power relations between two parties confronted with each other’s alterity, this article identifies three main patterns of artistic hybridization: the minority culture pattern; the partnership pattern; and the controlled contact pattern. It also provides analysis of relevant, homogeneous, and sizable forms of artistic production for each pattern, including Hebrew illumination from Iberia and Yemen, Euro-African and Euro-Ceylonese ivory art, and Chinese porcelains and European faience.

Bubble signatures revealed in antique artefacts

Antique Chinese porcelain can fetch thousands of dollars on the art market. Stephen C Wallace and Geraldine Kenney-Wallace explain how their physics-based technique could help collectors and connoisseurs to tell a real antique object from a fake.

The power of taste

In 1921, Stanley Berkeley Smith (1878-1955), a British banker based in Karachi, offered his collection of around 800 Chinese ceramics on loan to Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum. Berkeley Smith had spent the previous 21years acquiring the objects in India - and a Chinese Porcelain Room was duly opened at the Museum in 1923. Tastes in Chinese ceramics, however, were changing. From the 1920s, Cheltenham’s curator invited London specialists to inspect Berkeley Smith’s ceramics. One influential dealer even recommended that some of the pieces were not ‘museum worthy’ and should be disposed of. So it was that between 1946 and 1960 almost 500 of Berkeley Smith’s ceramics were sold at auction in Cheltenham and London. This paper examines the relationship between Berkeley Smith and Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum from 1920s to 1950s, exploring how his collection became entangled within shifting landscapes of taste in Chinese art during this time.

Chinese Porcelain and Muslim Port Cities: Mercantile Materiality in Coastal East Africa

Art HistoryVolume 38, Issue 4 p. 702-717 Original Article Chinese Porcelain and Muslim Port Cities: Mercantile Materiality in Coastal East Africa Sandy Prita Meier, Sandy Prita MeierSearch for more papers by this author Sandy Prita Meier, Sandy Prita MeierSearch for more papers by this author First published: 17 August 2015 https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8365.12176Citations: 5Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume38, Issue4Special Issue: Objects in Motion in the Early Modern World. Edited by Daniela Bleichmar and Meredith MartinSeptember 2015Pages 702-717 RelatedInformation

To Revisit Chinese Porcelain Through the Perspective of Transfer History

The Transfer History is one of the most prominent and promising disciplines of history in overcoming the limitations of existing world history studies, typified by Euro-Centrism. Historians of the Transfer History take note that socioeconomic transfer and cultural exchange did not occur separately, but collectively. They also point out that the transfer was not a unilateral process, but multilateral processes of mutual exchanges. By focusing on aspects of history hitherto peripheral or even neglected, they offer a well balanced understanding of world history without the distortion of the Euro-Centrism.BR There have been big demands of the concrete studies which fully utilize these potentials of the Transfer History. To fill this gap is the main aim of this study. For this study, the Chinese Porcelain is chosen. It was long been recognized as the luxury item with practicality and artistic value. It also underwent many changes in technology, materials, shapes, designs, and pigments through the contacts with diverse worlds. It epitomizes the multilateral exchange in action through mutual contacts and exchanges. From the perspective of the transfer history, this study demonstrates the new aspects of the Chinese porcelain hitherto uncovered by the existing artistic or socio-economic studies of it.

A Method and a Cause for Re-firing Repair in Chinese Blue and White Porcelains Imported in the Early Joseon Period

A Method and a Cause for Re-firing Repair in Chinese Blue and White Porcelains Imported in the Early Joseon Period

Kinrande porcelain from Spanish colonial trade networks

As an art historian studying sherds of Chinese porcelain found in Spanish colonial sites, I have found the sherds of kinrande (gold brocade style) porcelain at many of these 16th-century sites to b...

Illustration of compositional variations over time of Chinese porcelain glazes combining micro-X-ray Fluorescence spectrometry, multivariate data analysis and Seger formulas

In this research, the transparent glaze layers of Chinese porcelain samples were investigated. Depending on the production period, these samples can be divided into two groups: the samples of group A dating from the Kangxi period (1661–1722), and the samples of group B produced under emperor Qianlong (1735–1795). Due to the specific sample preparation method and the small spot size of the X-ray beam, investigation of the transparent glaze layers is enabled. Despite the many existing research papers about glaze investigations of ceramics and/or porcelain ware, this research reveals new insights into the glaze composition and structure of Chinese porcelain samples. In this paper it is demonstrated, using micro-X-ray Fluorescence (μ-XRF) spectrometry, multivariate data analysis and statistical analysis (Hotelling's T-Square test) that the transparent glaze layers of the samples of groups A and B are significantly different (95% confidence level). Calculation of the Seger formulas, enabled classification of the glazes. Combining all the information, the difference in composition of the Chinese porcelain glazes of the Kangxi period and the Qianlong period can be demonstrated.

Made in China: import, distribution and consumption of Chinese porcelain in Copenhagen c. 1600–1760

Excavations in a refuse dump area in Copenhagen, dated c. 1650–1760, have produced large quantities of Chinese porcelain which reveal considerable consumption of Oriental porcelain in the city, pre-dating the establishment of direct trade with China. The character of the porcelain dated to the first 30 years of the Danish China trade may indicate a socially wider consumption of Chinese porcelain than has been generally assumed. When comparing archaeological and documentary data, a differentiated picture of the import, distribution and consumption of Chinese porcelain in the Danish capital emerges.

Micro‐analysis on Chinese over‐glaze red decoration of Linshui Kiln from Jin dynasty (1115–1234 ad)

Red and green over‐glaze decoration on Chinese porcelains from the Song‐Jin periods is critical to the development for Chinese ceramics. To characterize the identity, crystal size, and band gap width of the red colorant, red and green porcelain shards from the Linshui kiln produced in the Jin dynasty (1115–1234 ad) are investigated using Raman spectroscopy, X‐ray diffractometry, and diffuse reflectance measurements. The colorant is shown to comprise hematite crystallites with the average diameter around 30 nm, and its crystal lattice is distorted as the result of the low firing of the decoration. The use of crystal size estimations coupled with band gap width calculations are believed to be employed for the first time on the study of Chinese archeological artifacts. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A technical comparison of three Chinese white porcelains: Ding, Shufu, and Dehua

The invention and maturation of white porcelain is of monumental significance in the history of Chinese ceramics, with three kilns being the most representative: Ding, Shufu, and Dehua. This article analyzes the chemical composition, microstructure, and technical processes of 32 representative samples of the above-mentioned white porcelains and explores their coloration mechanisms by means of energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry, electron microprobe, thermal dilatometry, and colorimetry. The results indicate that apparent differences among chemical composition and microstructure of the body and glaze impacted the coloration features of the three Chinese white porcelains. These results shed light on the history of Chinese ceramic technology, and have implications for interpretations of other white porcelain traditions.

A combined spectroscopic study on Chinese porcelain containing ruan-cai colours

Because of its major contributions to the world economy and cultural heritage, Chinese porcelain and its technology can be considered as very important. In this research, the applicability of Raman spectroscopy and X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy to study the pigments of the ruan-cai colour palette of Chinese porcelain dating from the 18th century was evaluated. Next to the investigations based on stylistic analysis, the use of other analysis techniques is important to obtain complementary information. Raman spectroscopy and XRF spectroscopy are two non-invasive, analytical techniques proven to be useful for the determination of the nature and composition of pigments used to decorate ceramics. As a result, analytical analysis allows us to retrieve more information about the production of Chinese porcelain. Based on visual inspection of the decoration, the objects could be divided into two groups and to evaluate the use of the combined analytical approach, all groups and subgroups were sampled. Before Raman and XRF analyses, the samples were cut, embedded and polished, in order to be able to measure the transversal section of the samples. In this way, each layer of the porcelain samples could be analysed separately. The results show that the blue colour is cobalt-aluminium oxide, in red zones haematite (α-Fe2O3) is present and the green area contains a mixture of CuO in a lead-rich basis and a solid solution of malachite (Cu2CO3(OH)2). The opaque yellow and white colours were identified as lead tin yellow type II (PbSn1−xSixO3, where x ∼ 0.25) and a lead arsenate, respectively.

Non-destructive characterization of oriental porcelain glazes and blue underglaze pigments using μ-EDXRF, μ-Raman and VP-SEM

The study of ancient materials with recognized cultural and economic value is a challenge to scientists and conservators, since it is usually necessary an approach through non-destructive techniques. Difficulties in establishing a correct analytical strategy are often significantly increased by the lack of knowledge on manufacture technologies and raw materials employed combined with the diversity of decay processes that may have acted during the lifetime of the cultural artefacts. A non-destructive characterization was performed on the glaze and underglaze pigments from a group of Chinese porcelain shards dated from the late Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) excavated at the Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Velha in Coimbra (Portugal). Chemical analysis was performed using micro-energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (μ-EDXRF). Mineralogical characterization was achieved by Raman microscopy (μ-Raman) and observation of small-surface crystallization dark spots with a metallic lustre in areas with high pigment concentration was done by variable pressure scanning electron microscopy (VP-SEM). Cobalt aluminate was identified as the blue underglaze pigment and a comparison of blue and dark blue pigments was performed by the ratio of Co, Mn, and Fe oxides, indicating a compositional difference between the two blue tonalities. Manganese oxide compounds were also identified as colouring agents in dark blue areas and surface migration of manganese compounds was verified.