Pottery

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The Shang Period

The Neolithic prototypes became the basis for bronze vessels during the Shang period (1570?-1045? bc), and Shang ceramic molds for bronze casting, made of high-quality clay, have been found. Shang pottery had four basic types, most of them found at the capital at Anyang, in present-day Henan (Ho-nan) Province. The first continued the Neolithic functional tradition in coarse gray clay, decorated with impressed cords or incised geometric patterns; the second consisted of dark gray imitations of bronze vessels; the third, white pottery with finely carved decoration resembling bronze designs; the last, glazed stoneware.

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Zhou Period Through the Six Dynasties

Except for the white pottery, all the Shang types continued in the Zhou period (1045?-256 bc). Coarse red earthenware with lead glazes was introduced in the Warring States era (403-221 bc); this ware also resembled bronzes. In the south, stoneware with a pale brown glaze was fashioned into sophisticated shapes.

The discovery in 1974 of the terra-cotta army of Shihuangdi (Shih-huang-ti), the first emperor of the Qin (Ch’in) dynasty (221-206 bc)—an imperial legion of more than 6000 life-size soldiers and horses buried in military formation—added new dimensions to modern knowledge of the art of the ancient Chinese potters. These handsome idealized portraits, each with different details of dress, were modeled from coarse gray clay, with heads and hands fired separately at high earthenware temperatures and attached later. Afterward, the assembled, fired figures were painted with bright mineral pigments (a procedure called cold decoration), most of which have now flaked.

Tomb figures and objects with molded and painted decoration continued to be made in the Han dynasty (206 bc-ad 220); these included houses, human figures, and even stoves. Bricks sometimes were decorated with scenes of everyday animal and human activity. Gray stoneware with a thick green glaze and reddish earthenware were also produced.

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During the Six Dynasties period (ad 220-589), celadon-glazed stoneware, a precursor of later porcelain celadons, began to appear. (Celadons are transparent iron-pigmented glazes fired in a reducing kiln that yield gray, pale blue or green, or brownish-olive.) Called Yüeh (or green) ware, they were less influenced than earlier pottery by the shapes of cast bronzes. Jars, ewers, and dishes became more delicate of line and classical in contour, and some had simple incised or molded ornamentation.

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Tang (T’ang) and Song Dynasties

Tomb figures and stoneware continued to be made during the Tang dynasty (618-907) and display stylistic influences from Central Asia. Bowls and basins with carved decoration were exported to India, Southeast Asia, and the Muslim Empire. Two important ceramic types characterized this period. One was a fine white earthenware covered with a lead glaze of glowing yellow and green tints, often in mottled patterns. The other, the most significant innovation of the Tang potters, was porcelain—made into thin, delicate bowls and vases with clear, bluish or greenish glazes.

Porcelain was further refined in the Song dynasty (960-1279), the age in which all art flourished, and the greatest era of Chinese pottery. Potters became adept at controlling glazes, a trend that began in the Tang period. Vessels were elegantly shaped. Decoration—molded, carved, or painted—included dragons, fish, lotuses, and peonies. These were scholarly subjects of the court painters and each represented a virtue. Kilns were established throughout China, each kiln site having its own style.

In the Northern Song, three outstanding styles emerged: Ting, Ju, and Chün. Ting ware was decorated with the previously mentioned motifs and covered with a smooth ivory glaze. It was admired by courtly patrons but was also used as everyday pottery. Ju was a coarse stoneware covered with a celadonlike light bluish-gray glaze with a subtle crackle. Chün glazes, thickly applied, ranged from blue to lavender, with added splashes of copper red or purple. Later, in the 12th century, Northern Song celadons reached their height, with a gray stoneware body covered in transparent olive or light brown. Tz'u-chou, a popular stoneware used by all social classes, combined transparent glazes with bold slip painting, sgraffito, carving, incising, impressing, and molding, as well as polychrome overglaze enameling, all in a great variety of motifs. The Lung-ch'üan celadons of the Southern Song—white porcelain with light bluish-green jadelike crackled glazes—were of even higher quality. The shapes were varied, some inspired by ancient bronzes, some by Middle Eastern metalwork and glass. Many were exported. Other famous wares were Chi-chou, white porcelain with a slightly bluish or greenish glaze (similar to the white Ch'ing-pai made later in the Song era), exported to Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and the Philippines; and Chien ware, dark-bodied stoneware with a blackish-brown glaze scattered with metallic blue and black spots.

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Yuan and Ming Dynasties

The Mongol conquests of the mid-13th century brought new foreign influences. Under the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368) potters adjusted to produce for an expanding export market. The size of vessels increased, and potters experimented with bright enamel overglaze colors. Ch'ing-pai and Lung-ch'üan wares became heavier. White porcelain vases with blue underglaze painting were produced.

This blue-and-white ware became a major export item in the Ming period (1368-1644). Under its clear glaze the porcelain body was painted with designs of great vigor and freedom of line in cobalt oxide (imported from Iran until a local source was substituted). These pieces became the favorites of 16th-century Europe, although Ming potters also made polychrome stoneware and monochromatic and white wares. New in the Ming era was the delicate Tou-ts'ai ware, a glassy porcelain with overglaze enamel painting. The court provided potters with a wide variety of new designs: scrolls, fruit, flowers, and scenes with people. Pottery was marked with dates of the emperors' reigns; the marks of successful pieces were imitated in later times.

Export to Europe reached its height in the late 17th century, when artistic standards were still high. A new enamel style, introduced from Europe and called famille rose, had as its principal color a delicate opaque pink, the metallic pigment for which was derived from colloidal gold. The famille rose colors could be mixed for shading and allowed miniature precision in drawing.

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Qing Period

A vast number of fine porcelain vessels were produced in the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), for both domestic and foreign markets, with potters concentrating on the refinement of glazes. Popular polychrome enamel styles were famille verte (green, yellow, and aubergine purple) and its derivatives, famille noir (black ground) and famille jaune (yellow ground). Monochromatic copper red glazes popular in Ming—both oxblood (sang de boeuf) and the paler peach bloom—were revived, as were Song celadons. In the 18th century, European collecting of Chinese porcelain was at its peak. By the end of the century, however, the endless repetitions of old motifs and forms led to sterility, and the Chinese could no longer compete with European mass-produced porcelain.

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