Appreciation of Ming and Qing Antique Porcelain

By | November 14, 2020

When it comes to “antique”, many people will equate it with fraud and deceit. In fact, in our ancient Chinese ceramics, there are many works from later dynasties imitating the previous dynasties, which are professionally called “antique porcelain”.

“Antique porcelain” must only flourish in the peaceful and heyday, when the economy and culture are developed, especially when the collection is hot. We conclude that the “Heyday of Kangxi and Qianlong” in the Qing Dynasty was the third collection craze in China, so a large number of antique works were produced at that time. In the past, there was a popular saying in the antique industry called “Yongzheng Chenghuakang Fangxuan”, which said that the Yongzheng antique porcelains were mostly imitated from the Hua Dynasty, and during the Kangxi period they were mostly imitated from the Xuande Dynasty. The objects of imitation are different in different eras, and later generations can have such a summary to show the prosperity of “antique porcelain” at that time. However, ancient and modern antiques flourish, but the starting point is different. In the past, the starting point of “antique porcelain” was that future generations admired the artistic achievements of the predecessors and pursued the living conditions of the past.

——Ma Weidu

Appreciation of Ming and Qing Antique Porcelain

Appreciation of Ming and Qing Antique Porcelain

The Ru-Glazed Round Washing the Qianlong Period丨The Palace Museum Collection

Appreciation of Ming and Qing Antique Porcelain

The Ru-Glazed Round Washing the Qianlong Period丨The Palace Museum Collection

Ru Kiln is the first of the five famous kilns in the Song Dynasty. It is famous for firing celadon. Its glaze is pure and quiet, with blue shining in the blue, and it has the reputation of “rain over sky”.

Jingdezhen imitated Song Ru kiln ware started from the Ming and Xuande period, but very few handed down.

Emperor Yongzheng and Emperor Qianlong of the Qing dynasty loved Ru kiln wares, and they instructed the superintendent Tang Ying to imitate them in large quantities. The “Working Records of the Qing Palace Construction Office” records the imitation in the sixth year of Yongzheng in Jingdezhen (1728) and the third year of Qianlong (1738). There are more than 40 pieces of Ru kiln.

The shape of this vessel is dignified and simple, the body is delicate, the glaze is even and elegant, and the glaze is criss-crossed with fine flaked patterns. It is a typical example of the Qianlong dynasty.

Appreciation of Ming and Qing Antique Porcelain

Appreciation of Ming and Qing Antique Porcelain

 Imitation Ge Glazed Chrysanthemum Petal Bowl Ming Xuande丨The Palace Museum Collection

The handed down products of Mingge kiln porcelain in the Ming Dynasty are the earliest products from the official kiln of Jingdezhen during the Xuande period. The shapes include chrysanthemum petal bowls, chicken heart bowls, chrysanthemum petal plates, folded edge plates, and skew plates, etc., and many have blue and white Xuande years .

This bowl is in the shape of a chrysanthemum petal, with an open mouth, a deep arc wall and a round foot. The whole body and the inside of the circle feet are covered with blue-grey imitation glaze, the glaze layer is plump, and the glaze surface is covered with flaked patterns. The outsole is signed in blue and white regular script “Da Ming Xuande Years” double-line six-character model, with blue and white double loops on the periphery.

Appreciation of Ming and Qing Antique Porcelain

An Imitation of Chenghua Doucai Tianzi Liquefied Jar Qing Qianlong丨The Palace Museum Collection

Appreciation of Ming and Qing Antique Porcelain

An Imitation of Chenghua Doucai Tianzi Liquefied Jar Qing Qianlong丨The Palace Museum Collection

The Doucai Tianzi jar appeared in the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty. It was named because of the word “天” in the bottom of the book.

The shape, decoration, and style of this jar are all imitated Huadoucai Tianzi jars. The glaze is fine and white, and the color is fresh and elegant. It is an exquisite work of the Huadoucai ware during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty.

Appreciation of Ming and Qing Antique Porcelain

A blue and white plate with pine, bamboo and plum patterns imitating Xuande’s Qing Dynasty Qianlong丨The Palace Museum collection

Appreciation of Ming and Qing Antique Porcelain

A blue and white plate with pine, bamboo and plum patterns imitating Xuande’s Qing Dynasty Qianlong丨The Palace Museum collection

Compared with the Xuande blue and white plate, the imitation glaze is whiter and the blue and white color is bright, while the Xuande plate has a deep and tranquil blue and white color, with an ink painting effect.

The overall ornamentation of the imitation plate center is smaller than the original one, and the painting method is used to express the three-dimensional sense of the mountain stone. The mountain stone appears more rigid, and the painting methods of ladies and children are slightly restrained.

In short, the Xuande blue and white plate has a free and easy charm, while the imitations of the Qianlong period have the characteristics of the Qianlong official kiln blue and white.

Appreciation of Ming and Qing Antique Porcelain

Imitation of Ding Kiln White Glazed Sanxie Zun Qing Kangxi丨The Palace Museum Collection

Appreciation of Ming and Qing Antique Porcelain

Imitation of Ding Kiln White Glazed Sanxie Zun Qing Kangxi丨The Palace Museum Collection

Zun plate mouth, slender neck, neck with plastic pasted three sheep head ears, round abdomen, high circle feet outside.

The whole body is imitated with the white glaze of the Song Dynasty Ding kiln, the glaze is bright and clean, and there are fine cracks.

Appreciation of Ming and Qing Antique Porcelain

Appreciation of Ming and Qing Antique Porcelain

Yongzheng imitation of Chenghua Doucai Gaoshi Cup丨The Palace Museum Collection

On the outer wall of the cup, the “ Wang Xi’s Love Goose Picture” is painted with a bucket-color pass . The six-character double-line regular script imitation in the blue and white column of the bottom book “Da Ming Chenghua Years”, this device is a successful imitation of the Ming Chenghua Doucai ware during the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty

Appreciation of Ming and Qing Antique Porcelain

Qing Kangxi bean celadon glaze sunflower wash丨Guanfu Museum Collection

Appreciation of Ming and Qing Antique Porcelain

Qing Kangxi bean celadon glaze sunflower wash丨Guanfu Museum Collection

The glazed surface of this dish is firm and bright, and its color is similar to that of mung bean, so it becomes a bean green glaze.

This glaze color developed from the Longquan kiln glaze color in the Song Dynasty. It was divided into light, medium and dark colors in the Qing Dynasty. The lighter color was pink, the middle was holly, and the bean green was the darkest.

The disc center is light and plain, and the surrounding is like petals. The edge of the mouth is also shaped like a flower mouth. Seen from above, it looks like a blooming flower. The bottom of the foot is exposed, and the porcelain body is white and compact. This is a double-circle regular script engraved in the “Da Ming Xuande Years”, a rare antique artifact during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty.

Appreciation of Ming and Qing Antique Porcelain

Qianlong famille rose imperial inscription poems and chicken cups丨Guanfu Museum Collection

Appreciation of Ming and Qing Antique Porcelain

Qianlong famille rose imperial inscription poems and chicken cups丨Guanfu Museum Collection

There is a saying in the collection circles: “Look at Chenghua in the Ming Dynasty, and see Qianlong in the clear.” The most famous blue and white porcelain in the Chenghua period is the “Doucai Chicken Crock Cup”, which can be regarded as a miracle of porcelain.

Because of the preciousness of the chicken bowl cup, it attracts many antiques. There were many imitations in various dynasties in the Qing Dynasty. All generations of Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong, Jiaqing, and Daoguang all copied them, especially during the Kangxi and Yongzheng periods. The Guanfu is only an imitation of Qianlong.

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