Porcelain from the Jingdezhen kilns 景德鎮窯, Jiangxi Province 江西省, Ming dynasty 明代 (1368-1644).
The use of polychrome enamels, associated with the prior application of cobalt blue, developed particularly under the Ming. This technique, known as wucai 五彩 “five-colours”, requires consecutive firings at decreasing temperatures.
Covered jar with dragon chasing a flaming pearl 五彩龍戯珠紋蓋罐
Ming dynasty, mark and reign of Wanli 萬曆 (1573-1619)
CB-CC-1930-198
The wucai “five colours” style, which reached maturity in the reign of Emperor Wanli, is often dubbed Wanli wucai 萬曆五彩.Bottle-vase with “garlic-head” mouth and auspicious motifs 五彩龍戯珠紋蒜頭瓶
Ming dynasty, mark and reign of Wanli 萬曆 (1573-1619)
CB-CC-1935-203Jar with dragons 五彩龍戯珠紋罐
Ming dynasty, mark and reign of Wanli 萬曆 (1573-1619)
CB-CC-1933-200
The jar is fitted with a later Japanese openwork metal lid.Dish with dragon and phoenix design 五彩龍鳳紋盤
Ming dynasty, mark and reign of Wanli 萬曆 (1573-1619)
CB-CC-1936-197
This pair of animals is often used as symbols for the imperial couple, the dragon standing for the emperor, and the phoenix for the empress.Wall vase in the shape of a half gourd 五彩鳳與雞紋壁瓶
Ming dynasty, mark and reign of Wanli 萬曆 (1573-1619)
CB-CC-1938-201
Two cockerels confront one another on the lower part of this piece, against a background of rocks and plants. The word for cockerel, ji 雞, is a homophone for “auspicious” 吉.Dish with dragon and phoenix design 五彩龍鳳紋盤
Ming dynasty, mark and reign of Wanli 萬曆 (1573-1619)
CB-CC-1932-199Dish with dragon and phoenix design 五彩龍鳳紋盤
Ming dynasty, mark and reign of Wanli 萬曆 (1573-1619)
CB-CC-1932-196Blue-and-white bowl with applied relief figures 五彩八仙紋碗
Ming dynasty, early 17th c.
CB-CC-1950-221
“Blue-and-white” decoration with applied biscuit relief figures coloured in enamel. On the outside, the god of longevity Shoulao 壽老 and Taoism’s Eight Immortals 八仙 are applied to an impressed latticework. Below the rim, a decorative band includes the characters fu lu shou kang ning 福祿壽康寧 “happiness, prosperity, longevity, health and tranquillity”. The inside is decorated throughout with a landscape.Stem cup 八仙紋高足杯
Ming dynasty, early 17th c.
CB-CC-1930-223
Latticework and applied relief figures of Immortals. The gathering of the Eight Immortals of the Taoist tradition represents the quest for longevity and the desire for a happy life.Bowl 八仙紋碗
Ming dynasty, early 17th c.
CB-CC-1950-222
Openwork swastika pattern with applied biscuit porcelain figures portraying Shoulao and the Eight Immortals. Perfect technical mastery of openwork decoration is essential to prevent the object becoming distorted during firing.Bowl 五彩仙人紋碗
Ming dynasty, mark and reign of Wanli 萬曆 (1573-1619)
CB-CC-1930-195
A landscape animated by Taoist figures - one riding a crane and another a phoenix - and the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma, shown crossing the Yangtze River. Bodhidharma 菩提達摩, who came from India, is considered in China to be the founder of the Chan 禪 (Japanese, Zen) school.Large bowl painted in enamel colours 五彩大碗
Ming dynasty, mark and reign of Jiajing 嘉靖 (1522-1566)
CB-CC-1933-159
The scenes illustrated on this bowl are based on the famous Romance of the West Chamber, or Xixiang ji 西廂記, written by Wang Shifu 王實甫 in the 13th century. It tells of the love between the scholar Zhang Sheng 張生, bound for the capital to sit the imperial examinations, and the beautiful Yingying 鶯鶯, who stopped at the same monastery following the death of her father. The inside of the bowl depicts a meeting between Zhang Sheng and Yingying, accompanied by her maid. The outside portrays Zhang Sheng’s triumphal return after passing his civil service examinations to rejoin his beloved.