Greenish White Porcelain Bowl-warming Zhuzi of Jingdezhen Kiln

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This set of refined wine objects is unearthed from the Northern Song Dynasty tomb in Haining County, Zhejiang. It was fifi red by Jingdezhen Kiln of the Song Dynasty, which was representative of greenish white porcelain. This set of refined wine objects consists of porcelain pot for containing wine (also known ( Wen Wan ), with flfl exible design and ingenious production. Among them, porcelain bowl features open mouth, deep abdomen and large capacity, which can contain the boiling water and wine pot so that wine can be warmed inside. Porcelain pot and porcelain bowl embrace internally and externally to match completely, which look like a gracefully erect lotus.

The pot has small straight mouth, cylindrical neck (attached with cylindrical pot cover on it). On the top of cover, there is a squatting small lion which is charmingly naive, lively and vivid. A small hole serves as the outlet when wine is warmed, which looks both beautiful and practical. This pot has sloping and wide shoulder and deep abdomen decorated with melon ridge lines. In addition, there is no other decorative pattern on the surface so that is appears simple and elegant. The bottom of the pot is connected with ring foot.

Greenish White Porcelain

Bluish white porcelain is also called as “shadowy celadon”, which is a precious variety in the Chinese ceramic history. It features delicate processed porcelain body, light and delicate white body. It sees white glaze in bluish green and white, which is as smooth as jade. Underglaze porcelain body is engraved with various refined decorative patterns. These aspects are combined with each other to add radiance and beauty to each other. This kind of porcelain enjoys beautiful style and clear and elegant charms.

Art features of porcelain of the Song Dynasty

In the Chinese porcelain history, porcelain of the Song Dynasty enjoyed special status. Although it is overshadowed by porcelains of the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties in terms of glaze colors and decorative techniques, it demonstrates elegant taste which the Song Dynasty people especially paid attention to. Therefore, from an artistic perspective, artists tend more appreciate porcelain in the Song Dynasty than porcelains of the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. In the Song Dynasty, porcelain not only included decorative and ornamental artworks, but also rough porcelain for daily use. Porcelain of the Song Dynasty never focused on complicated shape, but put a special emphasis on aesthetic effect of elegance. Furnace transmutation, ice crack, celadon with jade texture, white porcelain painted with Chinese ink, deep and moist black porcelain and other techniques don’t exaggerate or show off, but prove lofty aesthetic level.

Jingdezhen Kiln

Jingdezhen Kiln is located in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi. During Jingde Period under reign of Emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty, Jingdezhen Kiln made delicate greenish white porcelain, which was favored by the emperor. “Jingde Kiln” became famous. Jingdezhen Kiln mostly fired porcelain bowls, plates, boxes, pillows, pots, vases and statues, with beautiful and unique shape. Object bodies are mainly decorated by means of engraving, scratching and printing. Many types of decoration present colorful effects.

Engraving, scratching and printing

Engraving, scratching and printing are decorative techniques for porcelain, i.e., using tools to make patterns on the body when clay body is undried, and then applying glaze for fifi ring in the kiln. Engraving: Bamboo or blade serves as tool (the former engraves wide lines and the latter engraves thin lines). Scratching: Comb-like tool is used to create a variety of patterns on the surface of objects (mostly fifi sh pattern and pattern of water ripples), with the unsophisticated lines in symmetry. Printing: Printing die with pattern is used (mostly dieimpression yang pattern). It features refined regular lines, detailed ornamentation, tight compact structure, clear pattern and meticulous style, which gives people the simple, elegant, soft and beautiful feelings.