Page 38 - Yuan Dynasty Ceramics

Chapter 07 (pp. 330-385)_Layout 1 7/7/10 5:42 PM Page 367

We know that plain white wares were used for court cer-
emonies because a small group of Yuan imperial plates
have been found with the characters “Taixi” written in
relief among the lotus designs. 157 The central motif on
these dishes is a five-claw dragon (indicating they were
made for the emperor), surrounded by petal panels en-
closing Eight Precious Objects. The glaze has the semi-
transparent quality of white jade, and the porcelain body
is fine-grained and chalk white; the overall effect is one of
austerity and simplicity (Figs. 7.45, 7.46). The Official His-
tory of the Yuan Dynasty (Yuan shi) makes the connection
between imperial wares inscribed with “Taixi” and cere-
monial rites: “The first year of the Tianli reign (1328), the
Tianli Bureau for General Sacrificing Rites was estab-
lished to replace the Huifu and Zhuxiang Bureaus . . . the
second year (1329) the name of the bureau was changed
to Taixi Zongyin Bureau for General Sacrificial Rites.”
The Taixi characters, confirmed by the references in Yuan
C&C: Silo image
shi, identify this group of plates as sacrificial wares pro-
duced for the Taixi Zongxin Bureau for Sacrificing Rites,
and made sometime between the years 1328 and 1340. 158
Heirloom and excavated Yuan white wares with a 7.45. White porcelain dish or plate with molded dragon
thick, semi opaque, milky glaze—most often referred to decoration that includes the characters Taixi, Yuan dynasty,
as danbai (eggwhite)—sometimes bear the impressed ca. 1329–1340, 17.8 cm diameter. Made in Jingdeshen. Victoria
characters shu and fu, often on opposite sides of the in- and Albert Museum, London.
side wall of dishes, generally above a scroll of winding lo-
7.46. Drawing of molded dragon with the characters Taixi,
tus. These characters probably refer to the Shumi Yuan, pictured in Fig. 7.45. Drawing © Wang Chungang.
the ministry concerned with military and civil affairs. The
shufu glaze has been variously compared in appearance to
white jade, or a film of white mutton fat. Finer examples
are sometimes called fine eggshell white (luanbai) or fine
eggwhite. Luanbai glazes were made by reducing the pro-
portion of glaze ash to 10 percent (as compared with
about 30 percent in qingbai wares). Because this type of
glaze has a higher viscosity, the glaze application could be
thicker. The reduction in the fluxing agents also resulted
in more unmelted quartz particles, and some fine silica in
the glaze stone remain undissolved. These particles scat-
ter the light, causing the glaze to look opaque and matted
with a softer white or light bluish tone. The quality of
shufu wares is uneven. Fine shufu and shufu-style wares,
which more closely resemble Taixi wares, were produced,
and probably used by Yuan officials (Fig. 7.47). But most
exported shufu wares, found widely dispersed along land
and sea trade routes including Korea, Japan, and the
Philippines, were not as well made. 159 One interesting
shufu-type ware from the Sir Percival David Collection at
the British Museum, bears the characters “Tianshun first
year,” which could refer to a brief reign in the seventh
month of 1328. This piece is atypical of Yuan wares and,

Yuan Dynasty Ceramics 367