Page 20 - Bonhams UK Marsh Collection Art for the Literati November 2, 2022

A blue and white rouleau vase, 10th year of Shunzhi, image courtesy of A blue and white and underglaze red Lot 18, a rare blue and white and
Shanghai Museum (vase and detail) plate, Kangxi period, copper-red peach shaped dish,
Sir Michael Butler collection Kangxi

3) The Influence of Expression in Literati Painting on
Porcelain Painting

Literati art advocated the combination of poetry, calligraphy, painting The whole body of this blue and white vase is painted with scenery
and seal carving. To achieve this, one must first be a scholar and of mountains and forests surrounded by clouds. In the vacant space
erudite, for in addition to painting, they should have a profound above the distant mountains, the unique expression of the literati –
knowledge of philosophy and literature. Literati painting was not namely calligraphy - is used. The inscription is written in a variant of
just limited to the skill of depicting any landscape but depended official script, with poems and prose of alternate lengths, and with
on a sense of poetry. Furthermore, the calligraphy and seals had various seals of different shapes. The poem, calligraphy, paintings
to be fully considered within the composition. Since the Tianqi and and seals complement each other.
Chongzhen periods in the late Ming dynasty, these literati elements
began to appear on porcelain and continued into the prosperous From looking at a blue-and-white underglaze and red plate, Zhonghe
reign of the Kangxi emperor. The literati mode of decorating porcelain tang mark, from the Sir Michael Butler collection, it can be seen
was popular well into the middle of the Kangxi period and became of that calligraphy together with painting became a common feature
the basic styles of porcelain painting. of porcelain by the Kangxi period. Responding to the desires of the
market, the blank space was filled with two or three lines of poetry,
The combination of image and calligraphy, as well as seals on together with a seal and signature, thus making the piece more
porcelain became widely used. In addition to signatures of the artist, suitable for the literati and their tastes. Lot 18, a rare blue and white
longer inscriptions were seen with various seals of different shapes and copper-red peach-shaped dish, Kangxi, continues this spirit of
and sizes on the same piece of porcelain like that on a painting. A literati painting, combining a high artistic conception with poetry. It
typical example is blue and white vase, dated to the tenth year of the can thus be said to be a representative piece of encapsulating the
Shunzhi reign, in the Shanghai Museum. fusion of literati painting and porcelain decoration.
The trends of calligraphy in literati painting naturally influenced
inscriptions on porcelain. During this period, in addition to cursive
calligraphy, it is worth mentioning that a style of the clerical script
became typical of this time. This form is more dignified and calmer,
especially the inscriptions on the brushpots and cylindrical vases.
Under the ideological trend of archaism and the unconventional in
the late Ming dynasty, not only images were changing, but calligraphy
too. In the late Ming dynasty, many Han dynasty inscriptions were
unearthed, and clerical script became more widely popular. In
addition, this variant of clerical script was more square – ‘like an
abacus’, and the porcelain craftsmen mastered it relatively easily. It
was popular in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties for more than
30 years.

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