Page 12 - Ming Porcelain Auction March 14, 2017 Sotheby's, NYC

M ing. No era in China’s history is more inextricably
associated with the arts than that of the Ming dynasty cobalt blues and unctuous silky glazes. A new visual vocabulary had
(1368-1644). In the West, the very word has long been
synonymous with ‘priceless’ blue and white porcelain, greatly
admired, prized and much imitated within China and abroad.
The early Ming potters owed much to the preceding Yuan dynasty
(1280-1368), who had rmly established production of blue and
white porcelain at Jingdezhen, China’s ceramics metropolis. The
Mongol rulers of the Yuan dynasty controlled much of the rest of
Asia, and during their reign intra-Asian trade ourished. An o cial
porcelain bureau was established at Jingdezhen in 1278 – before
the Mongol control of China was even complete – but there is
little to suggest that the court involved itself in the matter of
aesthetics. Much of the blue and white porcelain produced during
this period was intended for consumers beyond China’s borders,
with considerable amounts destined for the near East, and largely
re ected a non-Chinese aesthetic.
The decline of the Yuan dynasty and the ascent of the Ming brought
a dramatic shift in the way in which porcelain was produced and
valued, with the Ming emperors and their courts taking an active
interest in the arts, particularly porcelain. Jingdezhen porcelain
became a product worthy of Imperial pride, and would play an
important role at court, in both ritual and secular contexts.
The bold innovations and dense patterns of Yuan blue and
white suddenly gave way to a new era of re nement attuned to
the personal tastes of the court. The porcelain body became
increasingly white and smooth, and the designs combined careful
spacious composition reminiscent of ink paintings, with vibrant
been introduced, with the repertoire of designs now including the
dragon and phoenix, the human form, bird and ower subjects, and
a greater range of natural fauna. The result was a visual and tactile
e ect that was more brilliant and sublime than ever. Whilst blue
and white porcelain continued to be exported and gifted to foreign
rulers, it also – nally – found favor at court.
This new heightened regard for porcelain was evident from the early
reigns of the Ming dynasty. The inscribing of an Imperial reign mark
directly on the porcelain was fully adopted by the Xuande period,
as was the widespread use of the ve-clawed dragon, the symbol of
Imperial authority.
At the same time, the personal tastes of the emperor were
expressed with unprecedented clarity. The Yongle emperor’s
preference for white wares is well documented; the highly
decorated borderless designs and powerful dragons of the
Xuande reign re ected the emperor’s own aesthetic, and the
Jiajing emperor’s personal belief in Daoist mythology and magic is
re ected in the visual motifs used during his reign.
The highly select group of Ming porcelain presented in this
sale celebrates the direct involvement of the court in ceramic
production, the personal tastes of the Ming emperors and the spirit
of their reigns. The intervention of Imperial taste in the early years
of the Ming dynasty would ultimately result in the production of
China’s most celebrated and, arguably, most beautiful art form.