Page 69 - A Re-examination of Late Qing Dynasty Porcelain, 1850-1920 THESIS

The earliest Qing kiln site dates to the reign of Shunzhi 順治(1644–1661) in

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1655, but, these wares were not thought to be good quality. Recent scholarship has
challenged this idea. The themes found on Shunzhi porcelain connect to imagery found

in woodblock prints, scrolls, and albums. The clear appropriation from other painted

forms placed a prominence on individuality, allowing the motifs found on Shunzhi

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porcelain to be unique. It was not until the reign of Kangxi in approximately 1672 that
porcelain from the Qing imperial kilns began to achieve superior quality. This meant that

wares were expertly potted with exquisite color application and highly detailed imagery.

All of these imperial wares were made exclusively for the imperial court and therefore

catered exclusively to imperial needs. A series of departments were required to

communicate between Jingdezhen and the Forbidden City. The imperial workshops,

Zaoban chu 造辦處, answered directly to the Imperial Household Department, Neiwu fu

內務府. Early records of these departments indicate that during Cixi’s reign,

approximately 15 workshops employed hundreds of artists and craftsmen who designed

and produced imperial-requested commissions. Historically, the production of
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porcelain in the late Qing dynasty began to slow dramatically, resulting in a limited

number of porcelain wares being produced. During the majority of the Qing dynasty, a

vast number of kiln sites thrived. However, in the late Qing dynasty, only 22 factories

53 Kwan, 20. The lower quality is typically attributed to the transition occurring between the rule
of the Ming to the Qing. Despite the quality of the porcelain itself being rather thickly potted, the
Shunzhi wares developed innovative landscapes and narratives that draw heavily from paintings
of the era.
54 For more see Michael Butler, Julia B Curtis, and Stephen Little, Treasures from an Unknown
Reign: Shunzhi Porcelain, 1644-1661 (Alexandria, Virginia: Art Services International, 2002).
55 Ying-chen Peng, “Staging Sovereignty: Empress Dowager Cixi (1835-1908) and Late Qing
Court Art Production” (PhD Dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles, 2014), 17.

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