Characteristics of Blue and White Porcelain in Different Periods of Ming Dynasty (Part I: Early Ming Dynasty)

Blue and white porcelain is one of the mainstream varieties of China porcelain. Blue-and-white porcelain has delicate fetal quality and bright enamel, which has the effect of traditional ink painting in China and gives people a fresh and elegant aesthetic feeling. Blue and white porcelain is deeply loved by Chinese people because of its rich shape, exquisite decoration and elegant temperament, and has become the mainstream of Ming and Qing porcelain. Blue-and-white porcelain in Ming Dynasty had a far-reaching influence on blue-and-white porcelain in China, with unique and distinctive characteristics of the times.

Blue and white in Ming Dynasty can be divided into three periods.

Early period: Hongwu, Wen Jian, Yongle, Hongxi and Xuande periods. Hongwu, Yongle and Xuande are the highest peaks.

Mid-term: Orthodox, Jingtai, Tianshun, Chenghua, Hongzhi and Zhengde periods. Among them, Chenghua, Hongzhi and Zheng De are the most famous.

Late period: Jiajing, Qin Long, Wanli, Taichang, Apocalypse and Chongzhen. Jiajing, Wanli and Apocalypse are the most important.

Explain the first blue and white.

hongwu

Hongwu blue-and-white porcelain is in the transition stage from Yuan Dynasty to Yongle and Xuande, and its style is a link between the preceding and the following, showing a unique style.

Blue and white materials in Hongwu period were mainly domestic blue materials with low iron content, high manganese content and insufficient scouring, which were light gray and light gray, and some iron rust spots infiltrated into fetal bones. Some are light blue, the color is stable, there is no halo, some are light blue, with dark blue spots and a little halo.

The blue and white porcelain in this period was mainly painted, supplemented by the laminating process. The painting style of the official kiln is fine and delicate, and the painting method is neat; Folk kilns are more natural and realistic, and their painting style is concise and bold, which has created the characteristics of "one stroke and one painting" in the early Ming Dynasty.

Yongle

Yongle was a period when the national strength of the Ming Dynasty was strong. During the Yongle period, Jingdezhen porcelain continued to prosper and its technology continued to improve. Blue and white flowers in this period are famous for their delicate fetal glaze, rich cyan, diverse shapes and exquisite ornamentation.

Yongle Blue-and-White is mainly made of "Ma Su Liqing" cobalt, which has a natural halo phenomenon when fired, and can burn a rich blue-green color at a suitable temperature, with elegant and dignified color, bright colors and distinct layers.

Yongle Blue and White has a rich, dignified, simple and elegant artistic style. Most of the pictures are blank, giving people a sense of comeliness and distinctive characteristics of the times. The patterns are mostly filled with double hooks, and the brush strokes are changed from the brush strokes of past dynasties. With small strokes, there are often different shades of color.

Xuande

The blue and white porcelain of Xuande Imperial Kiln occupies a very important position in the development history of China ceramics. It reflects the society, economy, culture, art and ideas at that time from one side, and has always been regarded as a model of blue and white craft by later generations.

Xuande blue-and-white carcass is thicker than Yongle dynasty, with fine, fine, white and hard fetal quality. The glaze is thick and moist, soft but not dazzling, with blue in white, commonly known as "bright blue glaze". The glaze is not smooth, like orange peel, commonly known as "orange peel glaze", and there are few glazes.

Xuande blue-and-white porcelain wins by ornamentation, which is very regular and never leaves the sideline. Brushes can be divided into real pens and sketch rendering. The actual pens are mostly thin lines, and the outline rendering is mostly thick lines and ornamentation. Smooth lines, clear lines and a sense of unity.

After introducing the blue-and-white porcelain in the early Ming Dynasty, we will take you to appreciate the characteristics of blue-and-white porcelain in the middle and late Ming Dynasty in a later article.