Page 55 - Yuan Dynasty Ceramics

Chapter 07 (pp. 330-385)_Layout 1 7/7/10 5:42 PM Page 384

A number of red-glazed wares with shufu-style molded
decoration, too, now appear to date to the Hongwu
reign. None of this type of red-glazed porcelain of impe-
rial quality, however, is known to have been found at a
securely dated Yuan site. 252
Another group of related wares include stem cups,
dishes, and bowls with molded shufu-type decoration
with combined sapphire blue and iron brown glazes.
Dating these two-color wares is the subject of much con-
troversy. While all scholars agree they are fourteenth-
century wares, some suggest a Yuan and others a
Hongwu date of manufacture. The designs are similar to
those found on underglaze red wares excavated in 1988
from the Hongwu strata at Jingdezhen, but they are even
crisper and more detailed, suggesting a Yuan rather than
a Hongwu date. It should be remembered, too, that a
two-color combination of blue and red has been found at
7.56. Fragment of a blue and white porcelain dish decorated with
the Three Friends of Winter, Ming dynasty, 25 cm diameter. Yuan sites such as the tomb datable to 1338 at Fengcheng
Excavated in 1994 from the Hongwu imperial kiln at Zhushan in and the Baoding treasure (see Fig. 7.36). The sapphire
Jingdezhen. Jingdezhen Institute of Ceramic Archaeology. blue and iron brown glaze color combination is ex-
tremely rare and conceivably signifies the blue of heaven
and the red brown of earth. 253
repetition of basic patterns captures the Ming artists’ In the Hongwu and later reigns of the Yongle and
propensity for standardized derivative designs. Xuande emperors, overglaze iron red enamels were also
Some might argue that the way Hongwu trees and used on imperial porcelain. A fragment of a dish deco-
rocks are represented is a matter of simplifying and stan- rated with iron red dragons was found at the site of the
dardizing designs in an effort to control underglaze pig-
ment, particularly volatile copper red. The reduced use of
cobalt blue and the effort to master the difficult produc-
tion of copper red wares are in fact significant shifts dur-
ing the early Ming period. Some believe that the
emperor’s insular trade policies may have reduced the
availability of Persian ore, which produced rich and var-
ied tones of blue. The increased production of copper
red underglaze wares at the Hongwu imperial kiln may
also have something to do with the former commander
of the Red Turban Army and founder of the Ming dy-
nasty, Zhu Yuanzhang: he seems to have favored the
color red, perhaps in part because his surname, Zhu, is a
homonym for a certain shade of red. In any case, as with
this meiping, Hongwu underglaze red wares usually came
out of the kiln mostly gray black, occasionally with a rosy
blush, and rarely, a rich copper red. A few imperial-qual-
ity pieces are now regarded to have been made during the
reign of the Hongwu emperor—such as a kendi of a
shape popular in Southeast Asia with naturalistically
drawn lotus flowers, leaves, and pods, now held by the
7.57. Fragment of a blue and white porcelain dish with garden
Victoria and Albert Museum. 251 Not until the reigns of
view from a palace balustrade, Ming dynasty, 34.5 x 26.8 cm.
the Ming Yongle (1403–1424) and Xuande (1426–1453) Excavated in 1994 from the Hongwu imperial kiln at Zhushan in
emperors were underglaze reds fired with greater success. Jingdezhen. Jingdezhen Institute of Ceramic Archaeology.

384 Yuan Dynasty Ceramics