Page 475 - Art In The Age Of Exploration (Great Section on Chinese Art Ming Dynasty)

reign-era, and there seems to be evidence (cat.
326) that dou cai itself, formerly thought to be an
invention of the Chenghua imperial kilns, was in
use as early as the Xuande reign-era (1426-1435).
Nevertheless, dou cai decoration is always pri-
marily associated with the ceramic production of
the Chenghua reign. Soft cobalt blue was used to
outline the motifs and to wash in some of them,
then transparent glaze was applied and the piece
received its first, high-temperature, firing. Lead-
based enamels were then painted within the
remaining blue outlines and fused by a second,
lower-temperature, firing. The result was a
superb, delicate fabric, characteristically slightly
ivory-tinged and with a distinctive oily sheen
that was only partially achieved in the succeeding
Hongzhi (1488-1505) and Zhengde (1506-1521)
reigns, and hardly at all in later copies. An acci-
dental effect of the firing also helps to identify
genuine Chenghua pieces: the foot usually shows
an ivory to pale cinnamon discoloration, an effect
of the high-temperature firing on the glaze and
body within the confines of the foot rim.
Dou cai, literally "competing colors/' suggests
a rather high degree of contrast. But in wood-
working, fitting, or joinery, dou cai can also mean
"agreeing" or "harmonious." With characteristic
Chinese subtlety the term dou cai encompasses
both meanings: "agreeable contrast" nicely
describes the delicate sprightliness of dou cai
color schemes.
Here the underglaze soft blue was used to
outline the undulating dragons and to wash in
the stylized clouds. Overglaze enamels color
the green dragons and the two bands of yellow
gadroons accenting the rim and foot. Floral
arabesques on the lid repeat the green of the dra-
gons on.the jar. The only red is in a border of
rosettes encircling the rim of the lid. Instead of a
reign-mark, the glazed base bears the character 324
tian (Heaven), brushed in underglaze blue. in the outlines of lilies, peonies, leaves, chicks,
The Chinese have always ranked the dou cai "CHICKEN" CUP hen, and rooster.
porcelains of Chenghua among the very finest This elegant, tiny wine cup resonates with
works in their extraordinary ceramic tradition. Chenghua mark and period (1465-1487) Chinese aristocratic and scholarly traditions. Wine
Never spectacular, always subtle and delicate, they Chinese was a time-honored accompaniment of elevated
reflect the sensuous and hedonistic proclivities of white porcelain with dou cai decoration discourse and elegant gatherings. For the scholar-
3
height 3.5
diameter j.6 (3)
(i /s),
the emperor, his formidable and pleasure-loving references: Medley 1966, no. ^749; Los Angeles poet or scholar-painter wine was both inspiration
empress, and the eunuch-dominated court. 1989, no. 41 and solace in times of trouble. The most famous
S.E.L. Chinese wine party of all time was held in spring
National Palace Museum, Taipei
of the year 353 in the Shanyin District, near
present-day Shaoxing in Zhejiang Province. There
On the fine white porcelain body of this wine cup, forty-one poets joined their host, the celebrated
under a warm, transparent glaze, underglaze calligrapher Wang Xizhi, at the Lan Ting (Orchid
cobalt blue outlines leaves, flowers, and chickens Pavilion). The guests were seated along the banks
and also fills in the shaded rocks. A double under- of a small stream, down which wine-filled cups
glaze blue line marks the upper boundary of the were floated. When a cup drifted to shore near
design, below the slightly everted rim, and a one of the poets, he drank the wine and composed
single line marks the lower boundary, just above a verse. After the party the poems were copied
the base. On the recessed underside of the base out as the Orchid Pavilion Collection (Lan Ting
cobalt blue also renders the six-character reign- //), to which a celebrated preface was added by
mark and the double line that forms a rectangular the host. The earliest known representation of
cartouche around it. Dou cai (cats. 323, 325, 326) scholar-poet with wine cup (now in the Nanjing
enamels of red, green, yellow, and aubergine color Museum) is found on a relief formed of molded

474 CIRCA 1492