Page 94 - 2020 December 1 Bonhams Hong Kong, Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of art

A Study on the Chenghua Imperial Yellow-glazed

anhua-decorated dragon dishes

Huang Qinghua

During the Hongwu period, monochrome yellow-glazed wares were The Chenghua period saw possibly the finest quality porcelain
produced in Jingdezhen, as evidenced by the yellow-glazed dishes made for the Imperial palace, many followed specifically the style
and bowls with anhua decorations of dragons amidst clouds that of the Xuande monochrome wares. After more than thirty years of
were recently discovered in both Jingdezhen and in the Nanjing Ming suspension, the Imperial kilns successfully reproduced yellow-glazed
Palace (built 1366-1386). These early examples were produced in low- wares, often with a smoother and softer feeling white glaze, a whiter
fired oxidation, with iron oxides applied directly on the biscuit body, and denser body and a clearer and finer yellow glaze.
under an approximate kiln temperature of 850 ºC, giving the glaze a
dark tone and an uneven thickness, similar to the architectural fittings The pair of yellow glazed dishes to be offered at Bonhams as Lot
made at Jingdezhen in the Hongwu era. It is different from the yellow 153 and Lot 154 from the collection of Thekla and Constantine M.
glazes produced after the Hongwu period, which were high in lead Marinidis, Athens, are exceptionally rare examples of yellow-glazed
and brighter in colour. For example, see a closely related yellow glazed wares produced by the Imperial kilns of the Chenghua period.
stem cup, Hongwu/Yongle period, in the Potala Palace, illustrated in Covered beautifully with an even lustrous yellow glaze save the
Budala gong : zhen bao guan tu lu, (Catalogue of Treasures from the base glazed white, presenting a sense of delicacy as well as nobility.
Potala Palace), Beijing, 2013, pp.38-39. Notwithstanding its simple colour and form, the firing of these
extremely delicate dishes was the most challenging process among
During the Yongle period, the production of yellow-glazed wares in the other types of porcelain. It requires the purest materials and the
Imperial kilns in Jingdezhen was further developed by the application highest skill to retain the best oxidation and reduction firing condition
of the lead-based yellow glaze to already-fired transparent tianbai to achieve an evenly glazed surface. The exquisitely moulded anhua
(sweet-white) glazes, producing a warm and rich yellow tone. Several decorations on the present two dishes were executed under highly
Yongle mark and period yellow-glazed wares were found in the skilled craftsmanship, which was clearly developed from the Yongle
Imperial kiln site at Zhushan, Jingdezhen, including a yellow-glazed and Xuande periods. In regard to the process, the dish was carefully
stem cup with a ‘Yongle nianzhi’ four-character mark and anhua pressed with a mould before its biscuit body turned completely dry and
moulded decoration of two dragons chasing a pearl, currently in a then was coated with a fine layer of tianbai sweet-white glaze, the dish
private collection. Although examples of Yongle-marked yellow-glazed would have been sent for a first high-firing. Only if the dish came out
wares are scarce and they may not be familiar to many, they provide as a perfectly white glazed porcelain, it would have been applied with a
evidence of a well-developed technique in producing yellow-glazed lead-based yellow glaze known as jiao huang (pour/elegant yellow) and
wares during this period. Following the lead of the Yongle period, the sent for second low-firing. It is therefore a perfect combination of the
Xuande reign marks a high point in terms of the quality of the glaze, most beautiful colour and the most delicate techniques.
with a brighter tone and opaque yellow colour, which further provided
a solid foundation for the development of yellow-glazed wares of the The subtle and peculiar anhua technique was an achievement from the
Chenghua and Hongzhi periods. extraordinary technical progress of the Imperial kilns during the early
Ming period. Imperial porcelain with anhua decorations were already
The Xuande period saw a high point in terms of quantity, quality and highly regarded by contemporary scholars, such as Zhang Yingwen
variety of porcelain forms and decorations produced in Jingdezhen. (circa 1524-1585), who recorded in his masterwork of connoisseurship
However, no more than eight Xuande marked monochrome yellow- Qing Mi Cang that ‘Xuande period anhua decorated wares are
glazed wares are recorded in public and private collections, including masterpieces of our generation.’
two yellow dishes in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated
in Catalogue of the special Exhibition of Selected Hsuan-te Imperial
Porcelains of the Ming Dynasty, Taipei, 1998, p.379, pl.162. Two
additional smaller yellow dishes, Xuande period, were included in the
exhibition Monochrome Porcelain of the Ming and Manchu Dynasties,
Oriental Ceramics Society, London, 1948, however, without further
information on how the marks were written. A further Xuande-marked
yellow dish is in the National Museum of China, Beijing, illustrated in
Studies of the Collections of the National Museum of China: Porcelain,
Ming Dynasty, Beijing, 2006, pl.47. Another example of a Xuande-
marked yellow stem cup with moulded anhua dragon decoration is
illustrated in Sotheby’s: Thirty Years in Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2003,
p.139, no.117. The stem cup is closely related to the Yongle example
mentioned earlier in this essay.

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