Page 53 - Yuan Dynasty Ceramics

Chapter 07 (pp. 330-385)_Layout 1 7/7/10 5:42 PM Page 382

7.53. Blue and white dish with peony and rock decoration, Ming dynasty, early part of Hongwu reign
(1369–1388), 10.4 cm tall, 58.2 cm diameter. Excavated from the Hongwu imperial kiln at Zhushan.
Jingdezhen Institute of Ceramic Archaeology.

identical in the textile and porcelain. This suggests that Wanchu, who was a county magistrate during the early
these designs were created about the time of Zuling’s years of the Hongwu reign (1368–1398). 246
completion in 1388 as an expression of the Hongwu im- Differentiating late Yuan from early Ming artifacts is
perial style. Both the ceramics and the textiles were prob- complicated by the fact that both had elements of Song
ably produced for bestowing on worthy Hongwu court derivation. As noted earlier, many of the same artisans
officials. 245 who worked for the Song court continued their service
There are conflicting dates for when the Ming imperial during the Yuan reign. It can be assumed as well that
kiln was established: some Jingdezhen local records give some potters at Jingdezhen made wares for both the
the date as 1402, while others, substantiated by excava- Shundi and the Hongwu emperors. Even so, a meiping
tions and discoveries in Jingdezhen, indicate that the kiln from an early Ming tomb datable to 1429 is a signal arti-
was established in 1369. The finds at Jingdezhen, which fact in a group of underglaze red wares now identified
help define the Hongwu style, include white porcelain with the Hongwu reign (Fig. 7.55). It is part of an interest-
bricks and tiles used to build Zhongdu, where construc- ing group of Hongwu wares decorated with the “Three
tion ceased in 1376. Also found were pieces of saggars Friends of Winter” motif, some of which were discovered
impressed with the characters guan xia (imperial saggars) in the Hongwu stratum at the Zhushan imperial kiln site
and a black-glazed roof tile inscribed with the name Zhao in 1994 (Fig 7.56). 247 The motif is a variation on the Yuan

382 Yuan Dynasty Ceramics