Porcelain: Explore the artistic charm of Ming ceramics

In the history of Chinese ceramics, the Ming Chenghua years of porcelain with its unique artistic style and exquisite craftsmanship is known as “the crown of the porcelain” Chenghua porcelain is not only highly respected at the time, and still collectors are chasing the treasures.

In this article, through the Ming Chenghua porcelain characteristics of pictures, to take you in-depth understanding of the unique charm of this period of porcelain, to explore the history and cultural connotations behind it.

The historical background of Chenghua porcelain

Chenghua years (1465-1487) is an important period in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the reign of Emperor Xianzong Zhu saw the relative stability of the social economy, culture and art also ushered in the development of prosperity.

Porcelain production during this period incorporated more innovative elements on the basis of inheriting the craftsmanship of the previous generation, resulting in a unique artistic style.

Chenghua porcelain is famous for its delicate body, light glaze and exquisite decoration, especially blue and white porcelain and doucai porcelain, which are the representative works of Chenghua porcelain.

The main characteristics of Chenghua porcelain

1. Delicate body, warm glaze color
Chenghua porcelain body is very delicate, the clay was carefully selected and washed, fired porcelain texture is uniform, smooth to the touch. The glaze color is mainly green and white, showing a warm and moist texture like jade.

The formation of this glaze color is closely related to the firing process at that time, Chenghua kiln workers in the glaze ratio and fire control reached a very high level.

2. The unique charm of blue and white porcelain

Chenghua blue and white porcelain is one of the most representative works of this period. The blue and white material used is imported “Suma Li Qing”, which is rich in color and has rust spots, forming a unique artistic effect.

Chenghua blue and white porcelain is decorated with flowers, figures, landscape, smooth lines, simple composition, giving people a sense of freshness and elegance. 3.

3. The exquisite craftsmanship of Doucai porcelain

Doucai porcelain is another highlight of Chenghua porcelain. Doucai is a combination of underglaze blue and underglaze painting decorative techniques, Chenghua Doucai porcelain is known for its rich colors and exquisite patterns.

Common Doucai decorations are flowers, dragons and phoenixes, figures, etc., colorful and elegant, reflecting the high level of craftsmanship of Chenghua porcelain.

4. Characteristics of the mark

Chenghua porcelain mark usually “Ming Chenghua year system” six characters in regular script, the font neat, smooth strokes. The mark is mostly located at the bottom of the object, some also with a double or single circle decoration.

Recognition of the writing style and location is also one of the important basis for identifying the authenticity of Chenghua porcelain.

Chenghua porcelain features picture analysis

Through the Ming Chenghua porcelain features pictures, we can more intuitively feel the artistic charm of Chenghua porcelain. The following is a picture analysis of some typical Chenghua porcelains:

1. blue and white twining lotus bowl

Pictures of blue and white twining lotus bowl, the body is delicate, glaze color is warm, blue and white color is rich and colorful, twining lotus pattern lines are smooth, sparse and dense composition.

The bottom of the bowl, “Ming Chenghua year system” is clearly visible, the font is neat, strong strokes.

This bowl type is very popular in the Chenghua period, both practical and beautiful, reflecting the Chenghua porcelain craftsmanship.

2. Doucai flower pattern plate

The picture of Doucai flower pattern plate shows a typical Chenghua Doucai porcelain. Plate surface to outline the outline of the flowers in blue, and then fill in the color with glaze color, bright colors, exquisite patterns.

On the bottom of the plate, the mark “Da Ming Chenghua nian zhi” is neatly written, with a double-ring decoration.

This bucket color plate at that time, mostly used for court banquets, showing the exquisite and luxurious Chenghua porcelain.

3. Jar with figures in blue and white

Pictures of blue and white figures jar, the jar body depicts a picture of the story of the characters, blue and white color, vivid characters, smooth lines.

At the bottom of the jar, the mark “Da Ming Chenghua Nian Shi” is clearly visible, with a neat font. This blue and white jar in the chenghua period is used for display or storage, reflecting the chenghua porcelain art and practical value.

Chenghua porcelain collection value

Chenghua porcelain with its unique artistic style and exquisite craftsmanship, become collectors chase treasures. Because of its rare survival, and mostly for the palace imperial porcelain, so has a very high collection value.
In recent years, the performance of Chenghua porcelain in the auction market is particularly eye-catching, repeated record highs.

For example, in 2014, Hong Kong Sotheby’s auction, a Chenghua doucai chicken bowl cup sold at a sky-high price of 280 million Hong Kong dollars, a new Chinese porcelain auction record.

Identification of Chenghua Porcelain

Identify the authenticity of Chenghua porcelain need to be from a number of aspects of a comprehensive judgment. First of all, observe the body and glaze color, Chenghua porcelain body is delicate, glaze color is warm, blue hair color is rich and colorful.

Secondly, pay attention to the decoration and paragraph, Chenghua porcelain decoration lines smooth, simple composition, paragraph written neatly, powerful strokes. In addition, it can also be detected by scientific means, such as X-ray fluorescence