Page 46 - The colours of each piece: production and consumption of Chinese enamelled porcelain, c.1728-c.1780
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CHAPTER 1 Introduction
Figure 1-1 Photos of the Imperial Archives of the Imperial Household Department.
Left: A Photocopied version of the Imperial Workshops Archives.
Right: The Original Imperial Archives of the Imperial Household Department.
Source: Left: SOAS Library. Photo by author, 10 July 2011.
Right: Zhongguo diyi lishi danganguan and Xianggao zhongwen daxue wenwuguan (ed.),
Qinggong neiwufu zaobanchu dangan zonghui [The Imperial Workshops Archives of the
Imperial Household Department] (Beijing, 2005), vol.1, p.3.
The Imperial Workshops Archives of the Imperial Household Department
constitute an original document that enables us to understand the world of court
artistic production with a level of detail that is impossible for any earlier dynasty. Most
activity involving imperial enamelled porcelain can be found chronicled in the records.
In addition, this archive contains information on the records of local porcelain
production centres in Jingdezhen and Canton, which provides an essential clue to
investigate the interconnections between the court and the local centres.
In 2005, the First Historical Archives and the Chinese University of Hong Kong
published the Qinggong neiwufu zaobanchu dang’an zonghui [The Archives of
Imperial Workshops of the Imperial Household Department]. 64 (Figure 1-1) In
64 In the following citations, when referring this publication, I use the abbreviated title The
Imperial Workshops Archives.
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