Page 41 - Ming Porcelain Sothebys march 2018
P. 41

A SOLITARY GEM IN JADEITE GREEN

              ᖘၯ˂ʈ


              By Regina Krahl   ੰጶё









                                                            t will be hard to ! nd a porcelain vessel more pleasing in shape or more
              ͉ۜၯڡཊႊᜦd͑ᆀ੿ନʘዹޜd౻ᅃᕄ                           ravishing in color than this small covered jar from the imperial Yongle
              ֜㜺ʘɽϓfᝈՉҖd׋ձᑹ९dᜳڲӸ                          I workshops of Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province. The smooth, bulging vessel
              ߕiሧՉཊd૶ݓᐥ᎑dᑁᇣ٤ၯfνʆd                         with its softly rounded cover, enveloped in a luminous, glassy, blue-green
              ̻؍ဋဋdɓ੭݆๧၀iЧ˥dථಳဘဘd                         tinted glaze, has a gem-like quality as encountered only in the Yongle period
              ˏྫྷϪیኳfΝᗳ٫dৰ͉̮ۜdਬԈʞ
                                                          (1403-1424). With its superbly designed form, its outstanding material and its
              ԷdසՇԷஹႊd͉މ૶ࢗᔚᔛdତπՇ֦
                                                          perfect execution, it is a masterpiece from a golden era of China’s porcelain
              ݂ࢗdϾၾ͉ۜΝҖ˲ஹႊ٫d֠͊Ԉ̴
                                                          production. No other ‘jadeite green’ jar of this shape, complete with its cover,
              Էf
                                                          appears to be recorded; altogether only six pieces including this jar, dressed
              ͑ᆀ܎dᏐ˂೮ਿdܝቋே̏ԯdהᑗɓಃ                         in this dazzling glaze, appear to be extant; and only two comparable jars
              ሾ๯ཻସdɽБ௴อdண΢ᗳ੿Ъdৰନኜ                         have retained their covers, both from the Qing court collection and today
              ̮d̤Ъဒኜeỻക೗๻ኜe५ᔌۜe⺗                          preserved in the Palace Museums in Beijing and Taipei.
              ږზНഃdޫʈᖵ̈଺dഒڿ̚ʦdɽ׳ମ
              ੹fࣛ౻ᅃᕄ੿ኜᅀdʈᖵጲၚdପඎ฽                          The reign of the Yongle Emperor, whose rule commenced in Nanjing and ended
              ᔮdʦ੿㜺፲ѧʘה̈dуމРᗇdʔሞཊ                         in Beijing, was marked by extraordinary innovation in technology, imagination in
              ЍeҦஔeኜҖeணࠇdอۜᄴ̈d఻ڐה                         design, and rigorous pursuit of quality. Specially designated imperial workshops
              ฽d˸ߧܝ˰ᅰϵϋග͊Ԉࠠࠅ௴อdٜЇ
              ɤɞ˰ߏdГ˙੹ࣘෂɝʕ਷d˙Ύϣપਗ                         created not only porcelain, but also lacquerware, cloisonné, textiles, Buddhist
              ନุɽމ೯࢝f                                     gilt-bronzes and other works of art, all of unparalleled excellence, thus initiating
                                                          an unprecedented # owering of China’s arts and crafts. The imperial porcelain
                                                          workshops at Jingdezhen in Jiangxi province increased quantity as well as
                                                          quality of their production with awesome rapidity, as the excavations of the
                                                          kilns’ waste heaps have documented. As new glaze colors and ! ring techniques,
                                                          new shapes and designs were tried out, the potters’ technical leap forward was
                                                          so immense, that thereafter no real innovation took place for centuries, until
                                                          the introduction of foreign technology from the West in the eighteenth century
                                                          supplied new impulses once more.
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