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A Blue and White Porcelain plate of the Yuan
Dynasty |
The Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) is a key period
for the development of the firing techniques of the Blue and White Porcelain in
China. Its unique characteristics were based on the techniques of the former
dynasties. The Blue and White Porcelain had become major porcelain product of
China by the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasties (1368-1911).
The Blue and White Porcelain of the Yuan
Dynasty is large in size, with thick roughcast. Generally there are big bottle,
big pot, big bowl and big plate, with the traditional flavor of the Tang
(618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties. Due to the underdeveloped techniques,
there are two interfaces on the body and several veins inside the body. The
roughcast is not as smooth as that of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, while the
glaze of the Blue and White Porcelain of the Yuan Dynasty is thicker than that
of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, due to more iron in the raw material of the
glaze.
There are lines like bamboo on the foot of
the porcelain. The body is connected with the foot when glaze has not been
coated. The body is decorated with lines of lotus, clouds and lots of flowers.
Dense decoration was not only applied to the blue and white porcelain but also
to the picture weaving and stone carving, reflecting the unique characteristics
of that time.
The major producer of the Blue and White
Porcelain in the Yuan Dynasty was Jingdezhen. Besides, there were kilns for the
blue and white porcelain production in Zhejiang Province, east of China and
Yunnan Province, southwest of China.